Air New Zealand provides further updates on flight cancellations due to cyclone Gabrielle
- Multiple North Island flights cancelled
- Cyclone Gabrielle is a rolling event – expect further flight cancellations
- Please follow the travel alerts page for updates
- Check the Air NZ app to see the status of your flight.
Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan says the airline is closely monitoring the severity of the incoming storm and is making changes now to ensure the safety of its customers, staff and aircraft.
"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," says Captain Morgan.
"Part of the preparation involves making changes ahead of the expected impact of the cyclone, so we can reposition crew and move our regional turbo prop aircraft to hangars or ports where they won't be at risk of high winds. We'd like to thank customers for their understanding if their plans are impacted."
"Given that this a constantly changing event, customers 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. We ask customers to refrain from calling our contact centre as we're experiencing a high volume of calls."
The following schedule changes have been made
All flights to or from Kerikeri and Whangarei 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 directly.
These schedule adjustments will cause significant flow on effects while the airline works through getting customers on those services to their original destinations and crew and planes back where they need to be. This may take a few days to recover.
Advice for customers
"We understand that many of our customers will be affected by this emergency, and we want to assure them that we're here to help," says Captain Morgan.
The airline is advising those with non-urgent travel between Sunday 12 February and Friday 17 February 2023 make use of the flexibility policy. Customers can either hold their fare in credit for 12 months or rebook in the same class of travel between Sunday 12 February 2023 and Wednesday 22 February 2023 without fare difference, penalty or service fees.
- The AirNZ app is the easiest way for customers to stay up to date with flight details and changes
- Most customers can self-serve via the Manage Booking tab on the Air New Zealand website
- As the contact centre is experiencing extremely high call volumes, we ask that only those with travel over the next 24 hours contact us directly
- The airline's travel alerts page has the most up to date information on operating flights - our contact centre team do not have any more information than this
- If you're flight is cancelled, please do not travel to the airport – staff at the airport are unable to rebook customers
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.
Air New Zealand would like to thank customers for their patience and support while it works through these significant disruptions.
The airline is focused on managing these impacts for our customer and will not be able to provide specific flight details or impacted customer numbers at this time.
Ends
Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.
Email: media@airnz.co.nz │Phone: +64 21 747 320│Twitter: @AirNZMedia
About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has 104 operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 7.3 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. Pre-Covid, the airline flew more than 17 million passengers every year, with 3,400 flights per week. Air New Zealand was recently named the World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety. Last year, Air New Zealand won Best Corporate Reputation in New Zealand – 8th year in a row.
Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the US, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework helps guide the airline's efforts in tackling some of New Zealand's and the world's most complex challenges. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.
About Star Alliance
Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.