Dozens of Tahiti passengers sleep out in Auckland Airport in room shortage

A lack of accommodation saw dozens of passengers sleep out in Auckland Airport. Photo / Michael Craig

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded this weekend in Tahiti and Auckland after a technical fault left dozens sleeping out in the airport.

On Friday night flight NZ902 to Pape'ete was returned to Auckland, after suffering problems with the "system that regulates cabin air". Cancelling this flight and the return service NZ903, hundreds of passengers were left in the lurch and without beds. With an extreme shortage of accommodation some passengers resorted to sleeping in Auckland airport.

The late turnaround saw passengers returned to Auckland shortly before 2am on Saturday morning, leaving little opportunity to find accommodation.

One passenger who had been turned around said that there was no support for passengers who weren't based in Auckland.

Flight NZ902 returned to Auckland early on Saturday due to a technical fault. Photo / FlightRadar24

"Air NZ couldn't find any accommodation and they expected foreign travellers to book their own room," said one traveller whose trip to Tahiti was cancelled. "I couldn't imagine the situation in Pape'ete."

The late arrival and lack of available accommodation meant that some were forced to sleep in the airport.

"There were about fifty of us sleeping in front of the airport terminal," said one Tahitian passenger.

Video of a confrontation between ground staff and passengers was shared with Radio 1 Pape'ete, showing disgruntled passengers trying to arrange accommodation.

Some passengers camped out for ten hours in front of the Air New Zealand counter with a makeshift banner, which read 'WE NEED A HOTEL ROOM'.

Matters were only made worse after the passengers learned that the next available service was not until 4 days later on 27 September.

In Tahiti passengers said the issue was equally confused. One Passenger in Pape'ete said they were left overnight with "no clear response, no idea on how to proceed".

"Our dream holiday (already planned and paid for) is vanishing away."

A spokesperson for Air New Zealand said that passengers were rebooked onto the next available services, departing Auckland Monday and Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, as there were several sporting events on in Auckland over the weekend, there were limited accommodation options, but the team did their best to offer all those that were available, along with meal vouchers."

Passengers who booked their own accommodation would be reimbursed.