Travellers flying from regional destinations are advised to check their flights as Air New Zealand has made several North Island flight cancellations ahead of Cyclone Gabrielle arrival.
Flights on turboprop planes into Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga are among those being cancelled, while Northland travellers can also expect cancellations.
The list of confirmed domestic cancellations includes:
- All flights to or from Kerikeri and Whangārei between midday Sunday and Tuesday morning are cancelled.
- Last flights into Hamilton and Tauranga on Sunday night are cancelled.
- All turboprop flights to, from or through Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga from midday tomorrow through to midday Monday are cancelled.
Customers eligible for a refund will be advised, while Air NZ is also warning that it may takes days for its services to recover from the cancellations.
Captain David Morgan, the airline’s chief safety officer, said his team are making changes now to ensure people’s safety.
”We’re doing everything we can to minimise the impact on our schedule. However, our top priority at this time is the safety and wellbeing of our customers and our people,” he said.
”Part of the preparation involves making changes ahead of the expected impact of the cyclone, so we can reposition crew and move our regional turboprop aircraft to hangars or ports where they won’t be at risk [from] high winds.”
He said because the effects of Gabrielle are not yet known and this was a “constantly changing event”, travellers should prepare for further flight cancellations.
“We’ll provide further updates to customers directly via the Air New Zealand app and post updates on our travel alerts page.
Morgan said the airline was advising those with non-urgent travel plans between Sunday, February 12 and Friday, February 17 to make use of its flexibility policy.
Customers can either hold their fare in credit for 12 months or rebook in the same class of travel between Sunday, February 12, 2023 and Wednesday February 22, 2023 without a fare difference, penalty or service fees.
Customers should also expect long wait times if they call the airline’s customer service helpline.
The airline requested only those travelling in the next 24 hours use the helpline.
“Customers who booked through a travel agent or third-party online agent should contact them directly about making changes to their bookings or credit validity.”