Sarah Crouch/Delivered
Auckland airport was flooded on Friday night. People were seen walking around in almost knee-deep water.
Auckland International Airport remains closed due to flooding after heavy rain hit the supercity on Friday evening.
There will be no flights to or from Auckland until noon Saturday at the earliest, the airport said in a statement tonight.
The Auckland region is in a local state of emergency.
Information on when flights will continue will be provided when there is clarity on the operation of the domestic and international terminals.
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Customers have been advised to pay a visit to the Air New Zealand travel alerts page for updates.
People with tickets to travel between now and January 30 for flights to, through and from Auckland have two options, the airport said overnight. They can choose to hold the value of their fare for 12 months from the time they request a credit. Alternatively, those booked to travel on affected flights can move their travel to another date or destination through Monday, February 6.
The airport closure came hours after a landing plane struck and damaged several runway lights, causing major flight delays.
A statement from the airport earlier on Friday said damage to runway lights “affected” international departures and major domestic flights.
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The torrential rain has led to desperate scenes in West Auckland as flash flooding caused widespread chaos.
The lights went out sometime before 9:30 p.m., but widespread flooding in the terminal forced its closure by then.
Roads around the airport were also affected by the flooding and heavy rainfall, delaying traffic.
Earlier David Morgan, Air New Zealand’s Chief Operational and Safety Officer, said a flight from Melbourne had “made contact” with the runway lights.
He said the plane was able to taxi to the gate and passengers and crew disembarked “as normal”.
Sarah Crouch/Delivered
People were left to wade through the flooding at the airport.
“In accordance with the airline’s standard operating procedures, we have alerted the Civil Aviation Authority.”
Wellington resident Michael was on a plane scheduled to depart Auckland Airport at 5pm when the torrential rain began.
All passengers had to return to the lounge, where they were told that the airport was being completely evacuated.
Now, outside the airport, Michael was told he would have to wait at least 24 hours before flying on to Wellington. He had already flown from Dublin.
“It’s like a war zone here. They’ve started handing out water, people are putting their coats on the floor to try and sleep. It’s chaos,” he said Friday night.
Sarah Crouch/Delivered
Cars struggle with the flooding outside Auckland Airport on Friday evening.
He said only one Air New Zealand employee was available to help with flight rebooking.
The rain began to seep through the ceiling, sodden bags waiting to be collected.
“There are elderly people in wheelchairs who have been left to evacuate themselves. We need help, please.”
Grant Baber and his family were on their way home to Palmerston North when Air New Zealand canceled two flights.
The family of five will now spend the night with a cousin.
“There is water centimeters deep on the asphalt.”
Baber said there were also puddles on the floor in the terminal building.
“Is this a super city? I don’t feel the super.”
He said that at about 6.30pm the queue outside Air New Zealand to rebook flights was about 500 meters long, but it appeared there were no more flights.