#Yasi – @FlyAirNZ – Air New Zealand has this evening suspended travel to Cairns ahead of severe tropical cyclone Yasi.

The airline advises that due to poor weather caused by Cyclone Yasi and the planned closure of Cairns Airport facilities Wednesday morning, flights NZ775 Auckland to Cairns and NZ776 Cairns to Auckland on Wednesday 2 February are now cancelled.

Flights NZ775 Auckland to Cairns and NZ776 Cairns to Auckland services on Friday 4 February are currently planned to operate (subject to weather and airport conditions) utilising a larger Boeing 767 aircraft to accommodate affected customers.

Customers are advised to contact their travel agent or freephone Air New Zealand on 0800 737 000 (within New Zealand) or 13 24 76 (within Australia) to rebook their flights.

Air New Zealand has also introduced ticket flexibility for passengers on other Air New Zealand services who may wish to change their travel arrangements.

Those options are as follows, for passengers ticketed prior to Tuesday 1 February 2011:

•Passengers ticketed for travel to/from Cairns up to and including Friday 04 February 2011 may defer their travel to a later Air New Zealand flight in the same booking class inside 12-months of the original date of travel without penalty. If only higher booking classes are available, the fare differential will apply. If the proposed date of travel is unknown, then the value of the ticket may be held in credit for payment towards travel within the same 12-month validity.
•Passengers who are ticketed to travel from Cairns up to and including Friday 11 February 2011 may bring their travel forward in the same cabin (regardless of booking class) without penalty and fare difference. If a cabin upgrade is required the fare differential will apply.
•Passengers ticketed to travel to/from Cairns up to and including Friday 04 February 2011 may change their travel to another Air New Zealand destination without penalty. In this instance any applicable fare differential will apply.
Passengers should note the following:

•Any incidental costs and penalties such as accommodation etc are the passengers’ own responsibility.
•Normal refund policy/procedures apply, i.e. non-refundable tickets remain non-refundable.
•Normal terms and conditions apply to tickets purchased after the dates specified.
•Standard Contact Centre service fees apply.
 

– Air New Zealand

– Image / WeatherWatch.co.nz