Auckland Airport, where water was ankle high in some terminals, has announced it will remain closed until Saturday noon
Serious rains made the streets of Auckland impassable. A state of emergency was declared on Friday in New Zealand’s most populous city hit by major flooding.
Auckland Airport, the country’s largest, where water was ankle-high in some terminals, announced it would remain closed until Saturday noon. Out of concern for public safety, a concert by British pop star Elton John, scheduled at an Auckland stadium, has been cancelled.
Flights into Auckland have been delayed or cancelled due to the wild weather, while footage on ABC television shows areas of the airport terminal completely flooded.
Umm pic.twitter.com/lR9aQZDPGO
— David Cormack (@David_Cormack) January 27, 2023
“Auckland Airport terminals and roading are currently impacted by widespread flooding,” the airport said on Twitter. “We are requesting people do not travel to the international terminal at this time.”
Auckland Airport terminals and roading are currently impacted by widespread flooding. We are requesting people do not travel to the international terminal at this time.
— Auckland Airport (@AKL_Airport) January 27, 2023
An Emirates A380 from Dubai to Auckland made a U-turn and returned to base to land after a 13-hour flight to nowhere.
Emirates flight EK448 DXB-AKL left Dubai 10 hours ago and seems to be returning to Dubai as Auckland Airport is still closed due to floodings caused by torrential rain. This flight will have flown 16 hours to nowhere #EK448 #emirates #avgeek #flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/DKQQW2juSk
— Ivan Coninx (@ivanconinx) January 27, 2023
In a separate tweet, Auckland Airport said runway operations had been reduced after runway lighting was damaged by a landing aircraft.
Auckland Airport has reduced runway operations after an arriving aircraft damaged runway lighting. This is largely impacting international arrivals and departures and larger aircraft travelling domestically. Our maintenance team is on site and is working hard to fix the damage.
— Auckland Airport (@AKL_Airport) January 27, 2023
