Auckland Airport (AKL) resumed operations and some flights after the airport was forced to shut down on the evening of January 27, 2023, due to excessive flooding that had entered the interior parts of the airport. The airport remained closed until the afternoon of January 28, 2023.
New Zealand’s Auckland International Airport has been forced to close today due to severe flooding inside and around the airport.
— Xime G.I. ♉♀️☮️❤️ (@xime_garmendia) January 28, 2023
The floods were caused by torrential rains.
Y luego se quejan del AICM...en todos lados pasa. pic.twitter.com/zc0IErR9Au
An estimated 9.8 inches of rainfall inundated Auckland on January 27, 2023. CNN reported that this amount was equivalent to an entire summer’s worth of rain.
AKL airport was shut down after a state of emergency was declared, leaving hundreds stranded. Video footage uploaded to YouTube by Stuff.nz showed travelers wading through water as they evacuated the airport.
It wasn’t just individual passengers who had to leave the airport. An Emirates A380 aircraft coming from Dubai was forced to turn back mid-flight after it was announced that AKL airport had closed.
Not the longest flight in the world anymore, but this Dubai-Auckland flight probably feels like it today. With Auckland Airport closed due to flooding, Emirates decided to return to Dubai. Looking about a 13.5 hour flight from Dubai to Dubai. https://t.co/nMvFA5Wa9y pic.twitter.com/kZy29zzlbu
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 27, 2023
AKL airport’s domestic terminal reopened mid-day on January 28, 2023, and a few international flights resumed on January 29, 2023.
International flights resume tomorrow morning. People should check with airlines about their flight as schedules may be disrupted for several days, but security and border processes will be open from 3:30am tomorrow for the first scheduled flight at 6am.
— Auckland Airport (@AKL_Airport) January 28, 2023
The airport has anticipated that flight schedules will continue to see disruptions over the next few days, and has advised passengers to contact their individual airlines.