Polar blast grounds South Island flights - Queenstown, Christchurch, Invercargill

Flights schedules across the South Island are being buffeted by a blast of Arctic weather.

Dunedin, Christchurch and Queenstown have already listed several cancellations, with Invercargill airport grounding all flights.

At 10 am this morning Southland's biggest airport announce that all Air New Zealand flights, in and out of Invercargill had been cancelled. Passengers have been advised to contact the airline directly.

However Air New Zealand has asked for patience, saying that their call centers are currently under pressure due to the disruption to the Transtasman flights to Australia.

"Air New Zealand's contact centre is currently experiencing a high volume of calls due to the travel pause with Australia contributing to longer wait times," said a spokesperson for the airline.

⚠️ All Air NZ flights in and out of Invercargill are cancelled - please contact your travel agent or Air NZ on 0800 737 000 for further enquiries, or download the Air NZ app on your phone.

Posted by Invercargill Airport on Sunday, June 27, 2021

Where possible, the airline advises passengers to rebook travel to a later date, online.

"The challenging weather is expected to last through to tomorrow and the airline is working through recovery flights for impacted customers," said Air New Zealand.

Christchurch airport also warned of disruptions and cancellations to services between the other South Island airports on the network.

⚠Due to adverse weather in Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill, several flights to and from these airports are cancelled. For the latest flight information please contact your airline or check our website https://t.co/ZfUlTRsJqK

— Christchurch Airport (@CHC_Airport) June 27, 2021

The South Island has been told to brace for a week of wild weather with strong winds and icy precipitation.

Niwa Weather says there is even the likelihood those in the south will see temperatures plummet to an icy -20C thanks to a "brutal" wind chill adding an icy sting during this week's polar blast.

Even from above 🛰️ we can see the invasion of cold air!

Note the popcorn 🍿 appearance to the cloud.

This is due to the cold air moving over the (relatively) warmer ocean, creating instability, or rising ⬆️ air. pic.twitter.com/9YeELVa4Ex

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) June 27, 2021