Tongariro ash disrupts air traffic

A graphic from GNS showing the predicted path of the ash coming from Mt Tongariro.

Relevant offers

Travel Troubles

Why power down phones on a plane? City airport ban on dossers riles hostel owner Customs seizes elephant meat, dead primate May I buy you a drink? Share your travel horror story United Dreamliner lands in Chicago Clarkson's 'babies' quip riles mothers Fog disrupts flights in Christchurch Cool end for feisty crabs Windscreen crack prompts plane's u-turn

Flights into Gisborne and Taupo airports "will probably be affected by the ash" in the fallout from the Tongariro eruption, says civil aviation director of meteorology Peter Lechner.

Some flights to and from Gisborne, Rotorua, Taupo and Palmerston North have been delayed or cancelled due to the eruption.

All flights in and out of Hawke’s Bay Airport have been suspended. Check flight information for Napier airport here: http://www.hawkesbay-airport.co.nz/Flight_Information_14.aspx

Many Air New Zealand flights to and from these areas have been cancelled.

The airline is working closely with relevant authorities and would take guidance from the Civil Aviation Authority and MetService before deciding whether flights would go ahead.

"We will not fly through ash and are constantly taking guidance … to ensure we can continue to carry passengers where safe routes and altitudes are available," Air New Zealand airline operations and safety general manager captain David Morgan said.

About 20 domestic flights in and out of Auckland Airport have been cancelled, and 22 have been delayed. 

- © Fairfax NZ News