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Fog to linger after stranding travellers today

Published: 6:34AM Thursday July 05, 2012 Source: ONE News

Thousands of air travellers remain stranded across the country tonight, and there's warning that there could be more chaos tomorrow despite this morning's heavy fog lifting throughout the day.

This morning, most of Auckland and the Waikato were thickly blanketed by fog, grounding smaller planes and causing hold-ups.

"We've obviously had some moisture over the past 24 hours that saturates the atmosphere but the thing we've had overnight as well, it's been clear skies, light winds and that's the perfect recipe for fog," MetService's Daniel Corbett told ONE News tonight.

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Flights in and out of Auckland Airport were still suffering major delays this afternoon.

At least 111 departures, both domestic and international, have been affected by the fog, which has come in the middle of the school holidays. Those figures include flights cancelled, diverted or rescheduled.

However, Auckland Airport told ONE News that the fog is clearing up and the departure backlog has been clearing throughout the day, but they are still experiencing a few delays.

Airport senior communication manager Richard Llewellyn said he does not know how much longer delays will continue as there is still a bit of a flow on effect from this morning.

Most of the flight affected were almost entirely domestic, as the smaller planes do not have the technology to navigate the fog, said Llewellyn.

Air New Zealand said it does not know how many passengers have been affected but will be putting on more service to help clear the backlog over the coming days.

Some international flights have also been delayed, while others were diverted.

Llewellyn said there have been four international diversions from the China Southern airline, three of those were to Wellington and one to Christchurch.

This morning two international flights were delayed.

Air New Zealand said a flight from Rarotonga to Auckland at 5.30am today was to be diverted to Wellington this morning, but has since landed.

Air New Zealand Hamilton told ONE News this afternoon that they have had a really frustrating day due to the fog at the airport.

Team leader Bruce said there have been no Air NZ flights in today, resulting in nine cancellations.

Two aircraft left this morning to go to Wellington and Christchurch, however no other Air NZ flights have left the airport since.

He said there have been lots of frustrated passengers and all of the cancelled flights have been rescheduled to a better time.

Virgin flights from Hamilton have had one cancellation.

Flights to and from Wellington and Christchurch are running but here have been some delays.

Another Air NZ spokeswoman told ONE News flights going from Wellington to Auckland, and Christchurch to Auckland have not been affected, as they are jet services and have the technology to navigate through the fog.

To get the latest domestic arrival and departure information click here.

MetService told ONE News this afternoon that the fog is unlikely to clear anytime soon.

It said there's still a few hundred metres hanging around Auckland Airport, the condition could return tonight and tomorrow morning. However it will not be as thick as this morning as there will be a slight south east wind nudging it.

Some forecasters have said they have not seen this kind of fog in 20 years, as it does not usually tend to linger for so long.

To find out the latest weather for your region click here.

The fog has also been creating treacherous driving conditions for motorists on Auckland roads.

Police have advised motorists to take care, as extensive areas of intense fog is impairing visibility throughout Auckland city.

- with Newstalk ZB
 

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