Passengers stuck in plane on the tarmac in Wellington longer than the length of their flight

Wellington Airport. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Passengers on board a plane from Auckland to Wellington this morning were stuck on the tarmac for almost an hour after a technical issue stopped them from disembarking.

A flyer spoken to by the Herald said it was "just laughable" and they spent more time waiting to get off the plane than they did in the air.

The man, who did not want to be named, travelled on flight NZ407 and said they took off slightly later but they made time in the air.

However, once they arrived in the capital at about 8:45 they had issues with the air bridge and the crew looked "increasingly worried".

As the plane sat on the tarmac he said passengers were scrambling to rearrange their schedules from the packed aircraft.

During this time he said crew on board the plane were great, and they received updates from the pilot and flight attendants.

Passengers were eventually allowed to disembark at 9:45.

In a statement, Wellington Airport said there was a technical issue with it's air bridges and this caused minor delays with two flights to and from Auckland.

"The issue has now been resolved and there has been no further impact to flights throughout the day."