Passengers wait upwards of 40 minutes as Air New Zealand processes a backlog of luggage. Photo / Supplied
Passengers wait upwards of 40 minutes as Air New Zealand processes a backlog of luggage. Photo / Supplied
Travel troubles continue for those trying to fly around Aotearoa after passengers have reported massive queues and delayed services.
Hundreds of passengers are stuck in queues at Auckland Airport’s domestic terminal as airlines struggle to process a backlog of cancelled flights.
“Hundreds of people in bag drop queue,” an NZMEemployee told Herald Travel, adding that lines currently stretched past the bag claim area and all the way through the terminal.
Air New Zealand passengers wait upwards of 40 minutes in the Auckland Airport domestic terminal as staff work to load a backlog of baggage. Photo / Supplied
After reaching an Air New Zealand employee, they were given more detail about the hold-up.
“An Air New Zealand rep checking bag tags of queued passengers said the baggage belts were overloaded with the volume of luggage they’re handling as they clear a backlog of travellers,” they said.
Forty minutes after standing in the queue, the traveller said proceedings were paused, and passengers were told they would prioritise people according to their departure time.
An Air New Zealand employee allegedly described the situation as “absolute chaos”, the traveller said, adding that the five operational kiosks continue to pause as they were overloaded.
After approximately an hour, the traveller said their bag was processed and they could continue to their gate. By the early afternoon, Air New Zealand’s operations team said the queue had eased to around 20 people.
By 1pm the airport queues had largely eased according to an Air New Zealand spokesperson. Photo / Supplied
Thousands of delayed travellers will be showing up at Auckland Airport today, following mass cancellations on February 13 and 14.
Air New Zealand’s Head of Auckland Airports, Andrew Leckie, said disruptions meant flights were operating at full capacity, so airports were “incredibly busy.
“Our teams are working hard to reaccommodate thousands of customers who faced a disruption to their travel plans,” he said, before thanking customers for their patience and understanding.
Auckland Airport warned travellers there could be delays and disruptions for “several days” as airlines attempted to rebook passengers.
Update: 6.30am Wednesday 15 February: Domestic and international flights have resumed but airline schedules may be disrupted for several days. Please check with your airline that your flight is operating before coming to the airport.
“Terminals may be busy as the Auckland Airport team and airlines work to get people where they need to be,” the airport said on Twitter.
When it came to how passengers could prepare for a flight following a spate of cancellations, Leckie recommended arriving on time, monitoring updates and keeping an ear out when in the terminal.
“To help ease congestion, we ask customers not to arrive at the airport earlier than three hours for an international flight or two hours for domestic, check in online where possible, keep a close eye on our Air NZ app for updates including potential delays and listen to the airport PA for important updates like bag drop timings being adjusted,” he said.
