After ZB host Mike Hosking's well-documented and widely discussed recent hassles while arriving at Auckland Airport, the Herald Travel team offers some tips for a smooth and speedy journey through any arrivals airport in the world.
CHILL
Airports, like hospitals and abattoirs, are giant architecturally thrown-together intersections where masses of meat arrives and gets shunted on somewhere else.
Things went wrong for Mike in the luggage hall. "We waited for our bags for over an hour," he writes.
So, your luggage arrived late. This is a thing that sometimes happens. Auckland Airport staff tell me that in the past 12 months, 91 per cent of passengers received their bags in less than 20 minutes (62 per cent had it in less than 10), which is actually pretty good.
Keep in mind that the people running the joint would also love to see you leave as quickly as possible. Jason Delamore, the airport's general manager of marketing and technology, says: "Where there's a delay, it's usually because one or more flights aren't running to schedule, causing an unplanned customer peak. When that happens the whole airport community works together to minimise any disruption."
OUR TIP: You've just had 12 hours without checking social-media updates and Hosking-themed clickbait headlines on the nzherald app. Flick on your phone, use the airport's 45 minutes of free wi-fi and chill while you wait.