Flights have resumed to all ports today (Feb 15) including New Plymouth, Napier and Gisborne
Special assistance flight to Gisborne to begin reconnecting region
11 additional services added to support customer recovery
6,500 disrupted customers to rebook following yesterday’s disruption
A total 821 cancelled flights and 49,000 impacted customers since Cyclone Gabrielle began.
Auckland, New Zealand: Air New Zealand’s international and domestic network is back up and running today. Flying into heavily impacted regions New Plymouth, Napier, and Gisborne have also resumed with some minor disruptions this morning as the airline worked through operationalizing the routes.
Following the increased wind gusts yesterday afternoon, the airline was forced to halt its domestic and international operations out of Auckland resulting in a further 300 canceled services.
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty say while yesterday’s gusts set back the airline’s recovery from the initial cancellations, the network is largely operating as usual again today.
“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.
“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.
“To have the airline operating largely as normal today is no small feat. We had to divert nine services last night to other ports like Christchurch and Nadi, rework our schedule to allow for the planes and crew we had out of place, bring a large proportion of turboprops back out of storage, and then work to rebook and look after those who have been disrupted.
“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.
“We’re deeply saddened by the ongoing impact of Cyclone Gabrielle on those affected regions, particularly Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.
“We’re ready and waiting to support the national state of emergency response and are talking to affected communities about how we can help. We’re also supporting our own people who are still badly affected by the terrible weather. We will continue to monitor the situation and support wherever we can.”
