Violent Cyclone Gabrielle winds send Air New Zealand into chaos

Tens of thousands of Air New Zealand passengers' travel plans are in disarray after Cyclone Gabrielle smashed the North Island, and violent wind gusts closed Auckland Airport, the country's biggest international and domestic hub.

Following an overnight battering of intense rain and gale-force winds, around 1500 international passengers had their inbound flights cancelled and are yet to be rebooked.

"Challenging winds" were impacting flights in and out of Auckland, the airline said, forcing it to temporarily ground all turboprop planes and even commercial jets.

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Airports in North Island cities New Plymouth, Napier and Gisborne, which are situated in coastal areas heavily affected by bad weather overnight, are also temporarily closed.

It's uncertain when those terminals will reopen.

The airline said a total of 592 flights were impacted because of the cyclone, and around 35,000 customers disrupted across its international and domestic network.

"Flights are very full but we're working as fast as we can to rebook these remaining customers into the next available seats," Air New Zealand's Leanne Geraghty said.

Geraghty said the airline was "looking at all available options" to get planes back in the air and passengers moving again, including adding larger aircraft, converting cargo flights and adding additional services where possible.

"These aren't easy to stand up but they're the right thing to do," she said.

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Domestic and international jet operations started from mid-morning today but have been temporarily paused due to strong gusts at Auckland Airport.

Air New Zealand said it intended to resume turboprop operations from mid-afternoon today, however high winds may inhibit this.

Today the government declared a national state of emergency, only the third time New Zealand, which has a population of 5.1 million, has ever initiated this measure.

Previous declarations were made for the Christchurch earthquakes and COVID-19 pandemic.

At least 38,000 homes were without power this morning.

Photos and footage showed homes destroyed by landslides in areas to the west of Auckland, and major arterial roads in other parts of the country washed away.

A number of schools in Wellington, the nation's capital which sits at the very bottom of the North Island, were closed today as bad weather lashed the length of the island.

Are you affected? Contact msaunokonoko@nine.com.au

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