Air New Zealand Cancels All Flights Because of Gabrielle Cyclone

Air New Zealand, New Zealand's flag carrier is preparing for Cyclone Gabrielle.

 

 

 

It is already making an impact in the country's North Island. The worst effects of the cyclone will be felt in Auckland on Monday and Tuesday. However, torrential rains and gale-force winds have been affecting the area.

Air New Zealand notified its customers about the situation Friday and provided details of its plans to deal with Cyclone Gabrielle's impact on New Zealand aviation. The airline provided an update on its operations yesterday, including cancellations of flights today and Monday as the cyclone approached.

David Morgan, the chief operational integrity officer and safety officer of the airline, is involved in the management of the situation. Yesterday, he published an update on the airline’s plans for the coming days. Morgan stated that the airline's main focus is to make changes immediately in order to ensure safety for 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 safety and the wellbeing of our customers and our people.

"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 of high winds. We'd like to thank customers for their understanding if their plans are impacted."

The airline will be impacted by the most severe weather between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. ANZ has canceled all turboprop flight to or from Auckland Airport, the regional centres of Hamilton and Tauranga during that time. According to ANZ, all turboprop flights between Tuesday morning and Sunday afternoon are cancelled. The same applies for Sunday's last flight into Hamilton or Tauranga.

It is not uncommon for flights to be cancelled or repositioned from their original positions to cause disruptions to the wider network. ANZ warns that it may take several days to restore service. These precautionary actions will have flow-on consequences as customers can be redirected to their original destinations, and the crews and aircraft are repositioned back to where they are needed.

Morgan stated that while the airline is aware that this emergency will affect many customers, it "want them to know that we are here to help." ANZ recommends that customers with non-urgent travel on Sunday, February 17th, should put off their plans and take advantage of the flexibility policy.

Customers can make alternative arrangements by using the flexibility policy. This allows them to hold their fare in credit for 12 month or rebook in same class between Sunday, February 12th, 2023. There is no fare difference, penalty, or service fees. The airline offered the following advice:

The AirNZ app allows you to keep up-to-date with all details and changes.

Customers can self-serve through the Manage Booking tab on the website.

The call center is overwhelmed with calls and passengers who travel within the next 24 hours are advised to contact it.

Contact center staff does not have any additional information beyond what is on the website's Travel Alerts Page.

Avoid flying to the airport if you have a cancelled flight. Airport staff cannot rebook customers.

Source: simpleflying.com