Fog at Wellington Airport forces cancellation of more than 200 flights

The fog began on Tuesday afternoon. Photo / Getty Images

More than 200 flights in and out of Wellington have been cancelled since Tuesday due to a lingering fog.

More than 60 flights were cancelled today alone.

The fog finally burnt off this afternoon and planes were able to take off and land in the capital after days of disruption.

Jason Pine was on a flight back from Auckland which managed to touch down just after 2pm.

"Coming in, even when we were low enough that it was obvious we were going to land rather than have to turn around, there was almost like a palpable sense of relief."

Pine was scheduled to fly to Auckland yesterday but his afternoon flight was cancelled and he was booked on an evening service instead.

However, Pine said the fog was "basically at ground level" and it was clear he would not be flying that evening.

Pine decided to hire a car and drive all the way to Auckland instead.

Wellington Airport corporate affairs general manager Jenna Raeburn said as of 12.30pm on Thursday the airport was "back to normal operations".

However, as airlines caught up on their schedules there would be some delays and backlogs, Raeburn said.

Passengers have been advised to check the live board for up to date information on their flights.

Fog has lingered in the capital since Tuesday afternoon with flight disruptions beginning about 4pm. A handful of flights were able to land on Wednesday morning when the fog briefly lifted.

Wellington Airport is due to welcome its first international flight tonight since the transtasman bubble was paused in July 2021.

Luckily the fog is forecast to be well and truly gone by 6pm when the flight is scheduled to land. Arriving passengers from Brisbane will be welcomed with a haka pōwhiri and waiata.

It's the first of more than 100 inbound flights scheduled before the end of May to re-establish direct air links between Wellington and Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.