Wellington Airport queues after baggage belt fault

Wellington International Airport. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A fault with Wellington Airport’s baggage belt caused queues this morning.

A spokesperson for the airport confirmed to NZME there was an issue with the belt, but a “contingency plan” was underway to process the bags.

The spokesperson said the issue was likely to be fixed “very soon” and bags had still been processed all morning with no delays for passengers or airlines.

“The system is complex so different agencies have worked together to quickly resolve the issue.”

Aviation Security Service said the issue was not the result of any equipment owned or operated by the service.

“Our staff are working with the airport company to support the effort to process bags.”

A spokesperson for Air New Zealand confirmed there was a problem with the check-in, and queues were “longer than usual”.

“Our staff are working hard to ensure customers get away to their destination on time and we want to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

One person at the airport posted to social media about “massive queues” due to the belt failure.

PSA Wellington Air NZ check in is messed up. Baggage belt not working - massive queues, such fun 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ixF2blCGgk

— Narelle Sindos (@NarelleSindos) July 27, 2023

The fault is poorly timed, given Wellington hosted the United States v Netherlands in the Women’s World Cup last night.

It’s been one of the most highly anticipated match-ups of the tournament’s group stage, a rematch of the final four years ago, where the Americans won their second-straight world title with a 2-0 victory.

This time the two teams finished in a 1-1 draw.