Updates

Update on Sunday 12 April 2026

Please attribute to Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer - Ground and Inflight, Kate Boyer:

As anticipated, Cyclone Vaianu is impacting flights to and from several North Island ports today. Our teams have been actively preparing for this event over the past 48 hours, with well-established plans in place to manage disruption while maintaining safety.

As of 2pm, over 90 turboprop services have been cancelled due to the weather event, primarily across regional North Island ports. Due to ongoing adverse weather, we have made the decision to cancel all remaining services to and from Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne and Napier for the rest of the day. Impacted customers have been contacted directly. Domestic jet and international services are operating as scheduled, although there are some delays due to the weather conditions.

We recognise this falls during the school holidays and understand the impact disruption may have on customers' travel plans. To provide greater certainty, we proactively introduced flexibility on Friday for customers booked to or from the North Island or Blenheim between Saturday and Monday. Customers can move their flight within 14 days of their original booking with no change fee or fare difference, or opt to hold their booking in credit.

Many customers have already taken advantage of this flexibility and adjusted their travel plans in advance. For those impacted by cancellations today, our teams are working through rebooking options, getting customers onto the next available services as conditions ease. We thank customers for their patience and understanding. Our priority remains the safety of our customers and team, while ensuring the resilience of our operation.

Update on Friday 10 April 2026

Please attribute to Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer - Ground and Inflight, Kate Boyer:

Our teams are closely monitoring Cyclone Vaianu, which is forecast to move towards the North Island this weekend. Safety is always our highest priority, and we are actively planning to ensure our operation remains resilient through this weather event. Our focus is on preserving customer journeys wherever safe to do so and protecting our ability to recover normal operations after the storm passes. 

Flights are currently scheduled to operate and any cancellations resulting from the storm will be communicated with customers directly. To support those with upcoming travel, Air New Zealand is proactively offering flexibility for customers booked on domestic flights to or from all North Island airports, or Blenheim, between Saturday and Monday. Customers can change to another Air New Zealand flight on the same route within 14 days of their original travel date, with no change fee or fare difference. Alternatively, customers may opt to hold their booking in credit.

We encourage customers to keep an eye on the Air NZ app and website for the latest information on their flights.

Update on Tuesday 7 April 2026

Please attribute to an Air New Zealand spokesperson:

Due to the ongoing impact of high jet fuel costs, Air New Zealand has made a small number of schedule changes for travel across May and June. These consolidations affect around 4% of flights but only 1% of total passengers due to travel across this period.  We have worked hard to keep disruption to a minimum, with the vast majority of impacted customers still travelling on the same day.  

Affected customers will be notified from 9am Tuesday, with all notifications completed by the end of the week. These changes are relatively small compared to others in the New Zealand market, where some airlines are reducing capacity by more than 10%. 

Like airlines globally, we're experiencing jet fuel prices that are more than double what they would usually be.  This is driving higher costs across the industry, and we've made further increases to some airfares to help manage this. 

We remain focused on keeping New Zealanders connected and maintaining a reliable, fuel-efficient schedule. Customers whose updated flight doesn't suit their plans can choose a refund or credit. If you don't hear from us, your flight is operating as scheduled. 

Update on Thursday 12 March

Please attribute to an Air New Zealand spokesperson:

Like other airlines, Air New Zealand regularly makes changes to our schedule depending on things like seasonality and demand.  With the unprecedented volatility in jet fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, airlines around the world are adjusting fares and their schedules to help manage the impact of these significantly increased costs. 

To help keep flying as affordable as possible and be as efficient with fuel as we can be, we have consolidated a small number of flights between 16 March and 3 May. The flights represent 5% of our total domestic and international schedule and are mainly in lower-demand or off-peak times. There are just under 44,000 passengers impacted out of the 1.9 million passengers we will fly over this period. Affected customers will be contacted today and will experience minimal disruption, with majority travelling on the same day as their original booking.

We know how important air travel is to New Zealand. In making these schedule changes we have tried to strike a balance between maintaining connectivity to all regions and our ability to reaccommodate passengers close to their original booking. All customers impacted will be reaccommodated, and will be eligible for a refund or credit if they are unable to fly.

Update at 9:00am on Thursday 5 March

Please attribute to Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Digital Officer Jeremy O'Brien

Due to widespread airspace closures and airport shutdowns across parts of the Middle East, some partner airlines operating to or through affected airports, including Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Doha (DOH), are experiencing significant operational disruptions. 

Air New Zealand's own services are not directly impacted. We are closely monitoring the situation. However, we recognise that some customers may wish to reconsider their travel plans or seek alternative routing options. 

We have extended flexibility for customers booked on Air New Zealand-issued tickets through to the Middle East for travel up to and including 20 March 2026, including separate domestic connections within New Zealand.

They can make one date change or reroute to avoid transiting the Middle East before 20 March 2026, with no penalty, service fee or fare difference. Customers who no longer wish to travel can instead hold the full value of their ticket as credit.

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep customers updated. Travel advice can be found on the NZ government Safe Travel website.