Christmas Day travel: Nelson Airport bomb scare leads to evacuation

Nelson Airport travellers pictured here were evacuated on December 17 due to a security threat, with the airport again being evacuated on Christmas morning. Photo / Sarah Milne

A bomb scare forced a brief evacuation of Nelson Airport this morning as Kiwis face more challenges trying to make it home to families or travel destinations.

Elsewhere, bad weather led to an Auckland-to-New Plymouth flight being cancelled and passengers asked to go home or board a bus put on by the airline.

It’s the second day in a row Christmas travellers have faced disruptions.

Weather yesterday led to the cancellations or delays of multiple flights throughout the country, with some passengers left fearing they would be forced to spend Christmas alone after being unable to rebook.

A Nelson Airport spokeswoman, meanwhile, said it “received another concerning email this morning” that she described as “very similar” to an email received on December 17.

The spokeswoman said the terminal was evacuated briefly as a precaution.

“But after consulting with police and the Civil Aviation Authority, normal airport operations have now resumed — it was very brief,” she said.

She hoped the delay hadn’t been too disruptive.

“We thank travellers for their patience and understanding for any disruption, but safety is our first priority.”

A similar threat closed Nelson Airport on December 17. Photo / Sarah Milne

One Nelson-bound traveller said her Air NZ flight from Auckland had subsequently been delayed 20 minutes this morning.

The delay was announced over the speaker at Auckland Airport, but the reason for the delay was not given, the traveller said.

She said at the time she hoped the delay would be sorted soon because her family were waiting to come and get her, especially her mum who was waiting to put the roast in the oven.

Meanwhile, Air NZ’s NZ5931 morning flight to New Plymouth has been cancelled due to bad weather.

Airline staff announced the cancellation over the airport speakers and said Air NZ was putting on a bus to ferry affected passengers to New Plymouth today.

Otherwise passengers are advised to head back home, a traveller in the airport told the Herald.

The cancelled New Plymouth flight is the second day in a row of travel disruption as Kiwis try to make it home to visit families or reach travel destinations.

Police did not comment on the bomb scare at Nelson Airport this morning, after similar threats closed the airport on December 17.

Passengers outside Nelson Airport during an evacuation on December 17. Photo / Sarah Milne

Police said they “will no longer be providing information on non-specific mass email threats where there is no apparent risk to public safety”.

“Threatening emails have caused significant and unnecessary concern to public services over the last month.”

“In some recent cases, services have been disrupted due to needless evacuations.”

On December 17, Nelson Airport closed for about an hour and a half after a concerning email was received about 9am.

Police then took until 10.30am to clear the airport and allow airlines to resume normal operations.

Today’s threat and cancelled New Plymouth flight are the second day in a row that Christmas travellers have faced delays.