Once again, the force of nature is getting the better of airline schedulers, with Cyclone Gabrielle inflicting another day of pain on New Zealand. While Air New Zealand was able to resume some flying today, strong and gusty winds played havoc with the airline's recovery.

In a statement issued earlier today, Air New Zealand (ANZ) said that 592 flights had been impacted due to the cyclone, leading to disruptions affecting around 35,000 customers across the entire network. The airline is urgently trying to rebook customers onto alternative flights, including about 1,500 international customers awaiting replacement flights.

Photo: Airbus

A false start at Auckland Airport

Flights did resume at Auckland Airport (AKL) today, but with high, challenging winds affecting some airports, a full resumption has not been possible. Over the past few days, ANZ chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty has kept customers, and the media, informed on what is happening, and today, she was at it again. She said that while it was good news that planes have started operating again, unfortunately, conditions at "New Plymouth, Napier, and Gisborne mean that flying isn't possible until tomorrow at the earliest."

Domestic and international jet operations restarted from mid-morning today but were later suspended due to the strong wind gusts hitting Auckland airport. In the statement, ANZ said it intended to resume turboprop operations from mid-afternoon today but warned that high winds "may inhibit this." Turboprop flights in and out of Auckland are subject to weather considerations, while those in and out of the worst-affected regions of New Plymouth, Napier and Gisborne were grounded.

Geraghty said the airline had added 11 flights to the domestic schedule to help with the recovery efforts and that more flights would follow. As well as adding domestic flights, ANZ has put on another three for international services to the Pacific Islands, where larger aircraft will be used to speed up the recovery process.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

All options are on the table

Geraghty added that while flights are full, the airline is working as fast as possible to rebook the remaining international passengers and "pulling out all the stops to get people flying again."

"This includes adding extra flights where possible to get our customers where they need to be as quickly as possible. We're looking at all available options, including adding larger planes, working with Star Alliance partners, converting cargo flights and adding additional services where possible. These aren't easy to stand up but they're the right thing to do."

Photo: Air New Zealand

As the national airline and one of New Zealand's largest employers, ANZ has a vital role to play in the national state of emergency response. The carrier said it is acutely aware of those regions still being battered by Cyclone Gabrielle and that it will get services back up to connect those regions as soon as possible. The final word was from Geraghty, who added:

"We're ready and waiting to support the national state of emergency response and are talking to affected communities on how we can help. We're also supporting our own people who are still badly affected by the terrible weather. We will continue to monitor the situation and support wherever we can."

Have you had travel plans disrupted by Cyclone Gabrielle? Let us know in the comments.