Auckland Airport has once again come under scrutiny as passengers reported hour-long delays clearing security checks entering or leaving the country. Calls for a review surfaced in the past week after travelers faced what they deemed "unacceptable" wait times at security screening, with regular travelers noting that this was not an isolated incident, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Former Prime Minister Helen Clark joined the chorus of concerns, sharing her own experience of facing similar delays just the week before. She took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to raise questions about potential systemic issues related to processes, staff, equipment, and space at the airport.
Passengers affected by last-minute flight cancellations shared their frustrations with the Herald, stating that they spent as much time clearing security entering and leaving the airport as they did airside. One passenger, traveling to Sydney on flight NZ111, recounted barely making it through Aviation Security (AvSec) screening and onto the plane before being informed of the cancellation. Passengers were then required to disembark and return through border security, where the express lane was not available for use.
Passengers, including parents with young children and those heading home to Australia, were offered overnight accommodation for replacement flights. However, some travelers reported delays in checking into hotels, which were reportedly overwhelmed by disrupted passengers and meal voucher distribution.
While delays were also reported in luggage handling and Customs and passport control, departing passengers faced the longest wait times. On a recent Sunday, processing issues at security screening contributed to long delays for passengers and departing aircraft.
AvSec attributed some of the delays to mechanical issues with screening machines. Only 13% of flights met their on-time performance on a particular Sunday afternoon, with flights delayed by an average of 38 minutes as they waited for passengers to clear screening.
Travelers also recounted a frantic rush to clear departures, noting that they would have missed their flights had they left on time. One passenger described a 23-minute dash from the customs hall to the furthest gate, gate 18, to make their flight.
Another frequent traveler between Sydney and Auckland for work expressed that delays were not uncommon, citing a previous experience where it took them 2 hours and 35 minutes to clear customs for a 3:35 departure.
A spokesperson for Auckland Airport acknowledged the congestion within the international terminal departures area, noting that staff were deployed to assist passengers and maintain passenger flows. They also recognized the delays in bag returns on several arriving flights as airline baggage handling teams worked to offload aircraft.
Air New Zealand apologized for the cancellation of flight NZ111, citing a maintenance issue that could not be resolved before departure.
Passengers are advised by the Civil Aviation Authority and AvSec to arrive as early as possible to clear screening, with recommended arrival times of 90 minutes for domestic flights and three hours for international departures. However, unexpected queues, like those experienced recently, are not always predicted.
Despite improvements such as the introduction of express lanes by Biosecurity NZ, processing times remain a concern for travelers entering the country. With no single agency monitoring overall processing times, identifying and addressing issues in the arrivals screening process continues to be a challenge.
While efforts have been made to improve efficiency, including a 20% reduction in queue times since the introduction of the express lane, delays and wait times for travelers remain a significant issue at Auckland Airport.
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