KEVIN STENT/Things
Air NZ warned travelers to expect flight disruptions during school holidays. (File photo)
Canceled flights across the country have disrupted the national water polo tournament in Christchurch, which begins Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, Air New Zealand warned travelers to expect flight disruptions during school holidays due to the bad weather and a high number of sick employees†
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said the weather and staff illness are putting pressure on the network, and the… start of the holiday coincided with stormy weather that affected most of the country.
A Hamilton woman, Nicola, said her family was thrown into “panic stations” on Thursday evening when she was told her Air NZ flight from Auckland to Christchurch, which was scheduled to depart on Friday, had been cancelled.
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† Air NZ cancels ‘large number’ of flights due to uncertainty over warning level
† Polar explosion causes flight cancellations
† Coronavirus: Jetstar suspends New Zealand services from midnight Tuesday
† Nearly 30 flights to and from Auckland canceled on Friday
Nicola spent a total of eight hours on the phone with Air New Zealand, split into three separate calls. She only managed to speak to a operator once.
She was finally able to arrange a flight for her son – a tournament participant – from Hamilton on Saturday morning. It cost the family $420.
“We were lucky enough to get him on a flight,” she said.
Nicola’s 16-year-old son will be in time to play his first water polo match of the tournament, but not all players will.
“My son was supposed to travel for Sea Wolf water polo and is not going today,” Sandi Eickhoff, an Auckland woman, said Friday.
Eickhoff has been notified that her flight from Auckland Airport to Christchurch at 2pm on Friday has been canceled on Thursday evening.
The next flight was scheduled for 2:30 PM, but was sold out.
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stuff reported on Wednesday that all fights from Auckland to Christchurch were sold out until Saturday.
“The games start tomorrow morning at 10 am and we don’t have a flight yet. It is highly unlikely that he will make the first game, which will just ruin the whole tournament,” Eickhoff said on Friday.
There would be four teams of about 20 each on the canceled 2 p.m. flight.
She said it is “frustrating” that her 16-year-old cannot play in the tournament, “given water polo and all sports have been completely decimated in the past two years”.
An Air New Zealand spokesman said: “Due to crew illness, flight NZ547 from Auckland to Christchurch was cancelled. Customers were notified last night and we have been working to accommodate the affected passengers.”
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Air NZ CEO Greg Foran said his teams are working hard to keep any disruptions to a minimum. (File photo)
The airline said it was experiencing “more than usual sick employees”. This in combination with tumultuous weather will likely cause some disruptions in the network in the coming days.”
Robyn Kenna managed to get to Christchurch on an Air NZ flight at 6am on Friday, but the rest of her son’s water polo team on the canceled 2pm flight were less fortunate.
She said there is no certainty at this stage about when the flights will be rescheduled and the cancellations are likely to affect Saturday’s game.
New Zealand Water Polo chief Jan Shearer said staff are “doing their best to accommodate changes in the draw so that teams can still play in the event”.