Air New Zealand’s international and domestic network is officially back up and running, resuming flights to all ports, including New Plymouth, Napier, and Gisborne. Flying into these heavily impacted regions resumed with minor disruptions this morning as the airline worked through operational challenges.
Following the increased high winds yesterday, Air New Zealand had to halt its domestic and international operations out of Auckland, which caused another 300 cancelled services.
Leanne Geraghty, Air New Zealand Chief Consumer and Sales Officer, said the gusts pushed back the airline’s recovery from the initial cancellations.
“With aircraft and crew displaced around the network, our morning operations were a little bumpy. But we’re largely back in the swing of things today and are completely focused on customer recovery,” Geraghty said. “We got halfway there yesterday with our restart but, as we have throughout the recent weather events, we put safety first. It’s the right thing to do – every time.”
Geraghty emphasised that it is no small feat to have the airline operating as normal today. They have had to divert nine services over the past night to other ports like Christchurch and Nadi, alongside reworking their schedule for out-of-place planes and crew.
“I’m continually amazed by the resilience of our Air New Zealand whānau – it has been one of the toughest periods in our history, and they have put everything on the line to help keep the business running and our customers flying. A huge thank you to them and our customers, who have been incredibly patient and understanding.”
In coordination with government agencies, Air New Zealand is deploying a special assistance flight carrying communication support, emergency supplies, and airport operational staff to Gisborne. This is to assess and secure the reopening of the Gisborne airport.
A total of 821 flights have been cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle along with 49,000 customers impacted. There are 6,500 international customers the airline must rebook, which will “take some time,” Geraghty detailed. Extra services have been added to Nadi, Tahiti, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Apia, while extra flights to North America are being explored.
Air New Zealand has extended its flexibility for customers up to 17 February 2023, and up to 8 March 2023 for international customers.
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