Fog in Auckand cancels 14 regional flights, fatal crash closes State Highway 2

Fog at Auckland Airport has cancelled 14 regional flights this morning while many others face delays. Photo / File

Listen to this article — Fog in Auckand cancels 14 regional flights, fatal crash closes State Highway 2

Fog has rolled into Auckland again overnight, with 14 regional flights cancelled this morning and numerous others delayed amid fog restrictions at the city’s airport.

International flights and main trunk line flights to Queenstown, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington are not affected.

Just after 3am Auckland Airport released a statement saying fog restrictions were in place, with travellers told to check Auckland Airport’s website for the latest flight information.

Drivers across the city also face low visibility, with NZTA’s traffic cameras showing fog shrouding motorways.

Lyons said fog levels were expected to waver before clearing up around 9am, thanks to light westerly winds and cloud.

“It’s extremely unlikely that this would persist for much of the day...But for anyone flying this morning, it could be very inconvenient, particularly for those on the smaller planes,” she said.

“Some of those bigger planes, you’d be shocked what they can land in.”

Visibility at the airport was fluctuating, having been as low as 200m around 6am before improving to 500m.

A traffic camera on the Bond St overbridge shows the northwestern motorway blanketed in fog this morning. Photo / NZTA

It’s the second day of disruptions in a row for the airport, with numerous delays and cancellations to domestic regional flights due to fog on Wednesday morning.

Lyons said the current ridge of high pressure was conducive to fog, which was seen across much of the upper North Island this morning, along with low cloud - but that was counteracted by a southwest “cloudy regime” for Auckland.

“It’s not ringing alarm bells that it’s going to be a really foggy week for Auckland...but we keep an eye on that as things get closer to the time.”

Fatal crash closes State Highway 2

SH2 has been closed from Mangatāwhiri to SH1 since around 11.30pm last night, following a fatal crash.

One person died in the two-vehicle collision, police said. A scene examination had been completed by the Serious Crash Unit.

The NZ Transport Agency is warning commuters to avoid the area or delay their journey where possible, with a detour in place from Koheroa Rd via Mercer.

SH2 has been closed since late last night between Mangatāwhiri and SH1.

A crash has also closed part of SH33 between Tikitere and Paengaroa in the Bay of Plenty.

The state highway is closed near the intersection with Allport Rd, NZTA said at 6.30am.

A detour is in place, with drivers advised to delay their journey if possible.