Domestic flights have been suspended again at Auckland Airport after continued disruption caused by high winds.

And while international Air NZ flights remain scheduled to operate, ground handling services (baggage loading/unloading) were at 4.15pm on hold for all airlines due to high winds.

Passengers have battled queues and long waits after some flights resumed earlier today, following a 24-hour pause on Monday in the path of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The airport company said at 3.45pm today that “ground handling operations have needed to pause due to wind speed on the airfield, and the need to protect the safety of airport workers.”

Air New Zealand announced it had cancelled all domestic flights in and out of Auckland for the rest of the day, in a move that is expected to affect about 55 flights.

Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said the strength and direction of winds at Auckland Airport were making it challenging to service aircraft, and it would be unsafe for staff “to continue to operate in these conditions”.

Air NZ is still planning to operate international flights at this stage - even though they are currently suspended.

“These are able to operate because the international terminal is more sheltered from winds, however, the airline will be monitoring wind gusts closely and will reassess if conditions change,” said Morgan.

 “With forecast strong winds for the remainder of the day, customers are warned to expect ongoing disruption and delays. Although Air New Zealand plans to resume scheduled services from tomorrow, there will be challenges.

“Today’s disruptions mean tomorrow will begin without all aircraft and crew in the locations required. We can also expect ongoing weather challenges, so we’re asking customers to please bear with us - our people are doing everything they can. Customers are advised to change their flight or put it into credit via the Air New Zealand app.”

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Earlier today, four domestic services were able to land at the airport today with the remaining departures cancelled until 7am tomorrow.

Passengers on recently arrived jet services reported being held on the runway for over an hour. Jetstar JQ292 and Air New Zealand NZ6140 fleyrs were told it was “too windy” to disembark passengers.

A spokesperson for Air New Zealand confirmed high winds were challenging airport operations in some parts of the country.

The cancellations of services led to a huge backlog in passengers at the airport terminals, hoping to fly this afternoon.

Passenger Mary Haddock-Staniland shared queues of travellers waiting for cancelled flights and delayed luggage.

“Auckland Domestic Airport is chaotic right now,” she tweeted.

High winds hold up restart

Earlier this afternoon Auckland Airport warned there would be a bumpy restart to flights.

“There may be delays and queuing, particularly if high winds make it unsafe for airline ground handling staff to load and unload baggage from the aircraft,” says Scott Tasker the airport’s chief customer officer.

Auckland's domestic terminal was full of disrupted passengers, this afternoon. Photo / Supplied 14 February

One passenger said they were held on the tarmac for 90 minutes after landing, as it was too windy to put air bridges in place. “The Air New Zealand staff communicated well with passengers, handed out chips and water,” they said.

Auckland Airport said that it was the decision of airlines as to whether they proceeded with flights. They said that delays on the tarmac were a matter of safety.

“To ensure the safety of everyone in and around the airport apron areas, some restrictions may be put in place during periods of high winds, including the need to pause baggage loading and unloading, airbridge connections and passenger embarking and disembarking.”

After a 30-hour suspension due to Cyclone Gabrielle, flights resumed this morning for international and later this afternoon for domestic. Not without problems.

A total of 96 domestic flights were scheduled at the airport today and 104 international.

Air New Zealand’s chief customer Leanne Geraghty said 11 flights were added to the domestic schedule to help reduce the backlog of disrupted travel.