Flights delayed, cancelled after fog blankets Auckland, mist blankets much of North Island

Thick fog has descended on Auckland this morning, delaying and cancelling regional flights and blanketing motorways.

Auckland Airport says 17 domestic regional flights have been cancelled and delayed by the conditions which has affected the base on the Manukau Harbour since 4.36am.

Just after 8am the airport confirmed five domestic regional flights had been cancelled and 12 regional flights had been delayed.

Earlier at 6.50am, Auckland Airport said approximately 12 domestic regional flights had been delayed and seven had been cancelled due to the fog.

International flights and those to Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown were not affected, the airport said.

At 6.30am, visibility at the airport was around 400m, MetService meteorologist John Law said.

The fog wasn’t restricted to Auckland - many parts of the North Island were also having a “misty, murky start” to the day, with moist air, cold temperatures and only light winds creating the perfect conditions for a foggy start, Law said.

“As we head through the daytime, the temperatures will rise, the winds will pick up, and it will start to mix, and we’ll start to see that fog lift up into low cloud.”

The latest forecast showed the fog beginning to break up and clear from 8am to 9am, he said.

Flight delays and cancellations

Restrictions due to the fog were put in place around 4.36am.

As of 8 am, Air New Zealand’s website showed early flights to and from Whangārei, Kerikeri, Tauranga, Napier, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Nelson, New Plymouth and Blenheim had been delayed, some by as much as three hours.

Cancellations were also affecting some Tauranga, Rotorua, Palmerston North, New Plymouth and Napier/Hastings and Blenheim flights.

Travellers are advised to check with their airline and the airport’s website for the latest flight updates.

Commuters have also been navigating the fog this morning, with visibility down to 100m on the Northwestern Motorway earlier this morning, according to one driver.