3.15pm update The safety of travellers is the priority

3.15pm update: The safety of travellers is the priority, as extraordinary weather event means no international flights to operate today

• No international passenger departures at Auckland Airport to take place until 5am, Sunday 29 January
• No international passenger arrivals at Auckland Airport until 7am, Sunday 29 January
• For the safety and welfare of travellers, we are asking people who are currently located at the international terminal to return home until tomorrow if they are able
• Auckland Airport is working with all parties, public and private, to support stranded passengers
• Domestic arrivals and departures continue to operate normally

Auckland Airport has made the decision to delay the reopening of the international arrivals and departures to allow necessary time to ensure the integrity of key operating systems and to carry out safety checks.

Auckland Airport Chief Executive, Carrie Hurihanganui said: “This has been a significant event that has put our city into a state of emergency, and certainly the airport has never been tested in this way before. But the delay to reopening is necessary to ensure travellers’ safety.

“What we’ve discovered is the flooding overnight has significantly impacted a number of critical components of our airport terminal infrastructure. We have been working with urgency today to try and get everything dry, tested and working again, but our assessment is we need more time to make sure it is all working well and more importantly, safely, before we resume international operations.

“I want to thank all the passengers and others using the airport for their considerable patience and understanding and also say how sorry we are that they have had to experience the extraordinary disruption and discomfort, that for many of them was part of a very long and challenging night. We know there will be lessons to learn out of such a unique event, and our priority today is passenger welfare and getting international travel back up and running as fast as possible.”

There will be no international departures from Auckland Airport until 5am, Sunday 29 January and no international departures until 7am, Sunday 29 January. Airlines and Auckland Airport are working with public and private organisations to support stranded passengers.

Advice for passengers at the terminal

• People should not come to the international terminal for travel today.
• With no international passenger flights to take place prior to 5am tomorrow, people who are currently located at the international terminal are being asked to return home until you have details of your rescheduled flight
• Travellers are encouraged to find Auckland-based accommodation with friends and family if possible
• Auckland Airport is working with all parties, public and private to support stranded passengers

Advice for passengers with travel booked in the coming days

• Airline schedules may be disrupted for several days due to the severity of this event
• If you are unsure about the impact on your travel plans, please contact your airline or check airline apps or websites.
• Air New Zealand advises customers to check the arrival and departures page on their website for updated departure times. Given the airline will need to realign its schedule and crewing, as well as work through processing challenges, flights are likely to depart later than 5am.

Domestic travel has resumed and is operating normally.

“While we are now working to restart our services, we acknowledge the early stages of this emergency response were challenging for our all passengers.

“We wish to apologise to anyone was unable to access the support they needed. We know this has added to the stress and anxiety of passengers in the terminal.”

ENDS