Travellers go through airport three times as wind causes chaos in Wellington

Wellingtonians are finally getting home after wild weather caused chaos for airline services in and out of the capital on Monday.

One group of four travellers told RNZ it took three tries over a 24-hour period for them to get home from Auckland, after two flights went all the way to Wellington, only to turn around because the plane was unable to land in the storm.

"It feels a bit like Groundhog Day being in an airport and going to be processed three times in 24 hours," one of the passengers said.

Strong winds had battered the country, but have been easing, with most of MetService's wind warnings expiring by mid-morning Tuesday. The airport said flights were now operating normally but flow-on disruptions could be expected.

Gusts had exceeded 100 km/hr near Wellington Airport, causing flights to be delayed and cancelled on Monday.

One of the people in the group of four travellers told RNZ their original flight had returned to Auckland on Monday and a replacement flight later attempted to land twice, before returning to Auckland again.

The group stayed in a hotel overnight before boarding another replacement flight at 9am on Tuesday.

She said the uncertainty over when they would arrive was stressful, particularly when they had to notify their workplaces of the delays.

"It was pretty stressful not knowing, kind of from moment to moment, what the outcome would be in terms of timing getting home," she said.

However, she said the airline's response was reasonable, with food vouchers, hotel accommodation and efforts to arrange replacement flights provided to passengers.

She also praised the flight crew for prioritising safety during the attempted landings.

Another passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, told RNZ some people, including elderly travellers, were left sleeping or lying on the floor at Christchurch Airport overnight.

They said Air New Zealand had transferred passengers from its cancelled Sydney-Wellington service to Qantas, but no accommodation had been arranged because it was unavailable.

On social media, disrupted passengers shared advice and their experiences of aborted landings and redirected flights.

Many were still struggling to get to Wellington the following day and vented their frustration.

Wild Weather

Wild weather across the country is expected to have flow-on effects for airline services, despite conditions beginning to ease.

MetService Head of Weather News Heather Keats said most weather warnings were due to expire throughout Tuesday morning.

Wind gusts reached 113 kilometres an hour at Wellington Airport at 4am, while Mount Kaukau recorded gusts of 148 kilometres an hour at 5am.

Mount Summit in the South Island recorded gusts of 222 kilometres an hour.

Wellington Airport said flights were operating normally on Tuesday, but there could be some flow-on disruptions from Monday's cancellations.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 recorded 10 cancellations and 10 delays on Tuesday at Wellington Airport, following 16 cancellations and 12 delays on Monday.

A Qantas flight travelling from Sydney to Wellington was diverted to Christchurch late Monday night, while an Air New Zealand flight from Sydney was cancelled.

Flights from Christchurch, Hamilton and Gisborne were also cancelled.

An Air New Zealand spokesperson said strong winds were causing disruption across parts of its network, particularly in Wellington.

"While the weather is expected to ease into this afternoon, the disruption is also impacting subsequent services as aircraft and crew are delayed," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the timing of the bad weather, over a busy Labour Weekend, was particularly frustrating for customers trying to get home. The airline's teams were working to minimise disruption and help passengers with alternative travel arrangements.