Hundreds of passengers left stranded after 34 flights cancelled and 272 were delayed
Flights across Australia and New Zealand were cancelled.
On Sunday April 26, many passengers were left stranded at airports in Australia and New Zealand after 34 flights were cancelled, whilst a further 272 flights were delayed. The Express reported that “New Zealand saw numerous flights fail to operate, while Australian passengers endured lengthy hold-ups. Melbourne's Tullamarine airport bore the brunt of the delays, with 84 flights failing to depart or arrive on time. A further seven flights from the Victoria airport were also axed throughout the day, all of which belonged to either Virgin Australia or Jetstar.”
A passenger took to Reddit recently and wrote: “On the 20th of April at exactly 5:11pm, an air nz flight from Auckland to Wellington became the worlds #1 most tracked flight globally on FlightRadar24.
“Many other flights coming into the capital including this one spent hours in the top ten list (but only this one made it to the top from what I could tell)
“As you could imagine, this was due to the very bad weather and high winds giving WLG it's crown as the windiest airport in the world (at times) and attracting people to see what will happen next
“Not only that. Around the same time, wellington had become the #1 most disrupted airport in the world as well (cancelled flights and delays)
“I just wanted to share this moment. I find it very special as an aviation enthusiast.
“What do you think?”
In response, one person wrote: “This is pretty common… weather related disruptions tend to have this happen, as well as unusual things, like the final flight of the RNZAF C130 was also the number one viewed.”
Although the current cancelled flights and cancellations are not believed to have anything to do with the current fuel crisis, earlier this month, Air New Zealand made schedule changes in May and June in response to high fuel prices. A spokesperson said: "These consolidations affect around 4% of flights but only 1% of total passengers due to travel across this period.”
The airline also said: "We have worked hard to keep disruption to a minimum, with the vast majority of impacted customers still travelling on the same day."
"We remain focused on keeping New Zealanders connected and maintaining a reliable, fuel-efficient schedule."
On April 6, Tom Rutherford MP for Bay of Plenty took to Facebook and wrote: “I’ve just received a further update from Air New Zealand about additional temporary reductions to the Tauranga network because of continued high jet fuel prices.
“For the May and June schedule they will be consolidating Auckland services by 27 rotations (averaging 4 per week), Wellington services by 30 rotations (averaging 4 per week), and Christchurch services by 10 rotations (averaging 1 per week).
“These changes are on top of the earlier reductions already in place from 16 March to 3 May, which were, Auckland services being reduced by 31 rotations (averaging just one daily rotation most weeks, but maintaining full capacity during April school holidays). Wellington services down by 21 rotations (about three per week on average). Christchurch services reduced by 3 rotations.
“Air NZ are focused on re-accommodating affected passengers on flights as close as possible to their original times, mainly targeting lower-demand and off-peak services.
“I know how vital reliable air connections are for the Bay of Plenty, whether it’s for business, tourism, family visits or medical appointments. I’ll keep advocating strongly to protect Tauranga’s connectivity.
“If you’re impacted or have concerns, please feel free to contact me and I’ll pass your feedback on.”