Flights: normal service resumed
Airways Corporation radar fault grounded all commercial aircraft, with flights allowed to land but not take off.
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Hawke’s Bay
The Airways Corporation radar system behind a major grounding of commercial flights this afternoon is back in normal operation.
Auckland Airport spokesman Simon Lambourne said flights were now departing as quickly as possible after a limited service resumed at 4pm.
“We’ve had five international aircraft delayed, three of which had passengers on board. We’ve had 14 domestic delays but all the passengers were in the terminal.
“We’re looking at one departure every five minutes until the backlog’s cleared.”
He advised passengers to go to the airport website, check the iPhone app or their airline for more information.
An Airways Corporation spokesperson said there had been a system failure at 2.48pm affecting its radar system nationwide.
All aircraft were being held on the ground as a result of the fault, she said.
“We’ve got our teams working on that issue.”
Christchurch International Airport communications manager Yvonne Densem said the problem was nationwide and affected all departures.
“Airways is currently experiencing an issue with its system across the country, which is resulting in a delay to departures from all the country’s airports.
“The company is working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Air New Zealand spokesperson Alisha Lewis said although flights were now departing "the backlog will take some time to clear as approximately 160 international and domestic Air New Zealand flights have been impacted this afternoon and into this evening".
She recommended passengers check arrivals and departures information at www.airnz.co.nz or download the Air New Zealand app for up to date information on flight departures.
Airways Corporation is a state owned enterprise that controls all air movements within New Zealand’s airspace and manages air traffic control towers.
Tim Hunter
Tue, 23 Jun 2015
Tue, 23 Jun 2015
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Flights: normal service resumed
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