As gales start lashing the North Island of New Zealand, Air New Zealand is stepping up its efforts to keep customers safe from Cyclone Gabrielle. Yesterday the airline issued advice about the cancellation of turboprop services. Still, today it gave another update that shows just how concerned the carrier is about the expected impacts of the cyclone.

Here is what is now happening

Today's updated weather reports show that the cyclone will bring powerful winds and heavy rainfall to Auckland tomorrow and Tuesday. In light of that, Air New Zealand (ANZ) today issued a Cyclone Gabrielle update, with the key points being:

• Multiple long-haul international departures and arrivals into Auckland on Monday canceled
• Tasman and Pacific Island flights on Monday canceled
• All domestic jet services into, out of or through Auckland tomorrow canceled
• Turboprop flight cancelations extended from midday today through to midday Tuesday
• Further flight cancelations are possible if extreme weather persists

Photo: G B_NZ via Wikimedia Commons

In a little more detail

Air New Zealand's chief operational integrity and safety officer, Captain David Morgan, said that to keep customers, staff and aircraft safe, the airline had made additional cancelations. Elaborating on the key measures the airline is taking, Morgan said:

"We continue to do everything we can to minimise the impact on our schedule, however in preparation for strong fluctuating crosswinds, for the safety of our staff and customers, international arrivals and departures from tomorrow morning through till midday Tuesday will be extremely limited.

"We've cancelled five long-haul international arrivals into Auckland tomorrow as well as departures. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Singapore arrivals are operating as normal but may be required to divert to another New Zealand port. All Tasman and Pacific Islands flights tomorrow have also been cancelled."

As announced yesterday, all flights to, from or through Auckland Airport (AKL) or the regional centers of Hamilton, Tauranga and Taupo are canceled until midday Tuesday. Morgan said that given the trajectory and strength of Cyclone Gabrielle is fluid, customers should prepare for further flight cancelations. He added that the priority is the safety of customers, staff and infrastructure and "we will only operate flights if it's safe to do so."

Recovery will take some time and bigger aircraft

With such a heavy load of cancelations, some of which involve widebody aircraft with hundreds of passengers, the airline is already flagging it will "take some time" to recover from the cyclone. To quickly re-accommodate passengers and speed up the recovery process, ANZ said it is already exploring using larger aircraft and increasing capacity to destinations that need it most. Part of that recovery process is getting aircraft and crews to where they need to be to operate the services, no small task in itself.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The airline has again asked customers not to call the contact center, which is focused on rebooking and looking after affected passengers. Alternatively, it suggests direct messaging via social media channels, WhatsApp, or deferring non-essential calls for a few days. The airline also advises customers to use the extended flexibility policy, where eligible bookings can be rebooked without fare difference, penalty or service fees.

International customers who are impacted will be notified by ANZ and rebooked to the next best alternative as soon as possible. If a customer is partway to their final destination and their onward travel is impacted, the airline will contact customers "to support with accommodation requirements."

Are you now experiencing the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle? Let us know in the comment section.