No flights able to land at Dunedin Airport due to fog

Four inbound flights have been cancelled at Dunedin Airport.
Four inbound flights have been cancelled at Dunedin Airport. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Flights are being diverted from Dunedin Airport, unable to land as thick fog blankets the city. 

On Saturday morning poor visibility meant no inbound planes were able to touch down on the airport's tarmac. 

"Today we have had no flights able to come into Dunedin Airport," explains Megan Crawford, general manager of business development at the airport. 

"Unfortunately the fog has meant that there has been poor visibility on the approach so flights haven't been able to land." 

Four inbound flights have been cancelled and with another two on the verge of making a call, she says. 

Crawford adds the fog looks like it's clearing but is forecast to roll back in again.

"We have a situation where we have one aircraft that's been diverted to Invercargill and one that's diverted to Christchurch.

"Obviously half the problem is that some of these flights that have come down from Auckland, for example, can only circle for so long and then they need to refuel and then they're kinda hedging whether or not they're gonna be able to get in or not."

She says fog can be unpredictable: "The problem we've always got is with fog is that no one really knows we just have to sit and wait." 

Just last week fog disrupted domestic jet operations in and out of Dunedin, Christchurch and New Plymouth. 

Crawford says fog has been an ongoing issue for Dunedin Airport this winter. 

"Over the past probably three weeks to a month we've been experiencing bad fog as some other airports in New Zealand have.

"Our airlines do an amazing job because it's very stressful for passengers as we can all appreciate if you can't get to where they want to get to or they can't even get in. 

"But the airlines do their absolute best to give them other modes of transport."