Air New Zealand is working overtime to re-accommodate over 9,000 displaced passengers after heavy rain disrupted its operations from its Auckland hub. Auckland International Airport (AKL) was forced to close and restrict operations over the weekend as heavy rain battered New Zealand’s largest city.
With the summer being the peak travel time to and from New Zealand, capacity was already limited for the carrier, compounded with multiple cancellations and delays, which has caused quite a headache for the airline. Air New Zealand is currently attempting one of its largest-ever passenger recoveries as the carrier attempts to rebook over 9,000 passengers stranded around the world.
Thank you for your patience as we focus on getting over 9,000 disrupted passengers back to the skies safely. We’ve extended flexibility so customers can change travel to an equivalent Air New Zealand international flight between Saturday 28 January & Tuesday 28 February 2023 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Gq6Mafy34s — Air New Zealand ✈️ (@FlyAirNZ) January 31, 2023
Rebooked at a rate of two per minute
Air New Zealand has been rebooking passengers at a rate of two per minute since Saturday. However, 300 displaced passengers are still yet to have alternative travel plans, the airline released to the media on Wednesday. Due to the wild weather, the airport was forced to shut its runway for all aircraft for 37 hours over the weekend. Forty arriving international flights were suspended on Saturday, of which the national carrier operated over 50%.
A helping hand from Singapore Airlines
Alliance partner Singapore Airlines has upscaled its Boeing 777 flight to its Airbus A380 double-decker for SQ285 on Tuesday evening. 9V-SKR, which joined the SQ fleet in September 2011, took off from Singapore Changi International Airport (SIN) at 23:03 on January 31, arriving at Auckland International Airport at 13:08 on February 1. In a statement from the airline, Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty commented:
“Our friends at Singapore Airlines have upgauged an 777-300 to an A380 adding around 200 seats for our customers needing to get into or out of Singapore tonight.
“We’ve (also) added an additional service from Los Angeles departing this evening which will get nearly another 300 customers back to Aotearoa New Zealand on top of the extra Niue flight scheduled for 2 February. And, our New York service tonight will stopover in Fiji to collect another 111 passengers on the way through.
“We’re pulling all available levers to get customers on services as soon as possible. There will be some customers whose rebooked flight is further out than they would have hoped.”
$250 a night for displaced passengers
The airline has offered $250 a night for accommodation reimbursement for displaced people, with increased flexibility options made available for those looking to cancel or rebook their trips later. The airline has been closely monitoring the weather forecast over the coming days in preparation for any possible disruption. Since Sunday, the airline has maintained its scheduled service.
Source: simpleflying.com