Air New Zealand is experiencing disruption to its operations following a temporary shut-down of Refining New Zealand’s pipeline into Auckland.

The shut-down is currently impacting all airlines operating into and out of Auckland Airport and limiting the volume of jet fuel able to be uplifted to 30% of normal usage.

The airline estimates around 2,000 customers per day will be affected by flight cancellations over the next couple of days as it works to consolidate passenger loads and minimise fuel usage.

Details of flight cancellations are available on Air New Zealand’s Travel Alerts page. At this stage, the following services have been cancelled:

Sunday 17 September
NZ729 – Auckland to Melbourne

Monday 18 September
NZ722 – Melbourne to Auckland
NZ543 – Auckland to Christchurch
NZ550 – Christchurch to Auckland
NZ413 – Auckland to Wellington
NZ420 – Wellington to Auckland
NZ437 – Auckland to Wellington
NZ444 – Wellington to Auckland

Tuesday 19 September
NZ718 – Sydney to Auckland
NZ719 – Auckland to Sydney
NZ411 – Auckland to Wellington
NZ418 – Wellington to Auckland
NZ429 – Auckland to Wellington
NZ428 – Wellington to Auckland
NZ538 – Christchurch to Auckland
NZ543 – Auckland to Christchurch
NZ555 – Auckland to Christchurch
NZ566 – Christchurch to Auckland

Several the airline’s long-haul services to and from Asia and North America will be undertaking refuelling stops at selected Pacific or Australian airports. The following services are currently scheduled to operate with a refuelling stop in Nadi, Fiji:

NZ5 – Los Angeles to Auckland, Saturday 16 September (local time)
NZ6 – Auckland to Los Angeles, Sunday 17 September
NZ8 – Auckland to San Francisco, Sunday 17 September

The airline is also ensuring domestic jet services uplift maximum fuel limits when operating out of Wellington or Christchurch to reduce fuel requirements ex Auckland.

Air New Zealand Chief Operations Integrity & Standards Officer Captain David Morgan says, “Unfortunately this is an industry wide issue caused by the physical failure of an essential fuel pipeline. We are doing all we can to minimise the impact on our customers, however, we also need to take all prudent steps to conserve jet fuel supplies at Auckland Airport. We thank our customers in advance for their cooperation.”

Any necessary schedule changes are being communicated to affected customers directly.

Customers currently booked to travel into or out of Auckland over the coming week are advised to keep an eye on the Travel Alerts page of the Air New Zealand website for the latest information.