‘Incredibly sorry’: Air NZ apologises after staff shortages and weather cancel flights

Air New Zealand flights from Auckland have been disrupted by staffing shortages. Photo / Sebastian Goldberg, Unsplash

Weather and “operational issues” that triggered staff shortages have caused a raft of flight cancellations impacting Air New Zealand customers.

A flight from Auckland to Christchurch was cancelled earlier today due to “staff shortages” caused by “weather disrupts” throughout the day, an Air New Zealand spokesperson confirmed.

“We’re doing our very best to put impacted customers onto alternative services, however, due to the high loads at the moment, some customers will need to be moved to Saturday’s service. We are incredibly sorry about this inconvenience,” the spokesperson said.

Several more flights have been delayed today as a result of a combination of “weather conditions” and “operational requirements”, including flights to Tauranga, Napier, Wellington and Queenstown.

Recently, the national carrier faced heavy criticism over the cost of its flights, with some passengers saying prices are two to three times what they were pre-pandemic.

One-way fares from Auckland to Sydney have peaked at almost $1200 one way in December, with two months still to go.

Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran said they were expecting half a dozen planes to arrive over the next seven months, and with them the hope of cheaper airfares.

Domestic travel ticket costs are up by 20 per cent pre-Covid, while international flight ticket costs are up by 50 per cent from pre-Covid days, Foran said.

Additional reporting by RNZ