Hundreds of passengers who are stuck at Wellington Airport after their flights were cancelled by heavy fog are struggling to find accommodation.
All flights at Wellington Airport have been suspended due to fog. Photo: Twitter / @WLGAirport
More than 100 flights have been cancelled during the day and all are grounded tonight.
Air New Zealand said it hoped to resume flights from 9am tomorrow if weather permited.
And it said it would use a 312 seat Boeing 777 - which usually flies internationally - for extra flights to and from Auckland to help clear the backlog of travellers.
An additonal Airbus A320 would also be used.
The fog rolled in about 10am. Other flights had already been delayed as the airport tried to catch up following fog delays yesterday.
Air New Zealand said this afternoon it had suspended all operations for the rest of the day.
Jan Morrison, from Christchurch, was up at 5am to fly to Blenheim via Wellington for work meetings, and told RNZ News the delays had thrown a spanner in the works.
Jan Morrison is trying to get to Blenheim. Photo: RNZ / Emile Donovan
"First they were going to send me back to Christchurch to catch a bus to Blenheim. Then the guy found me the last seat on the Nelson flight. He okayed it with his manager to pay for a bus from Nelson to Blenheim. If that'd come off it would've been great, but about 15 minutes later that flight got cancelled too.
"They gave me a few refreshment vouchers, which we thought could cover a few stiff whiskeys at the bar if needed."
Another traveller, Vanessa, was trying to get to Tauranga.
"I didn't expect to be staying an extra night in Wellington, which I have to now because we don't have many flights to Tauranga, so I'm going tomorrow morning. It's all good, there could be worse things happening."
She had also been inconvenienced, and had to cancel meetings, she said.
"But it's all good. I'll go to the movies. At least I'm not going overseas."
Air New Zealand said it had suspended all operations for the day. Photo: @WLGAirport
Jim said he was on his way to the Gold Coast.
"It's frustrating. I've flown for years, so I'm used to it, but it still gets frustrating. "
Sue said the delays had thrown her plans to walk the Abel Tasman Coast Track into jeopardy.
"I had a very early start this morning in Hamilton. When we got to Palmerston North, the plane developed a puncture so that flight was cancelled.
"I'm hoping I can get into a flight to Nelson this afternoon because I'm hoping to be tramping the Abel Tasman coastal walk tomorrow."
Chris Knight and Marguerite Andersen were in their way to Brisbane.
"A long white cloud comes in over Wellington so we just patiently wait. We can't do anything else, except enjoy the New Zealand hospitality and wait it out. "
Stranded travellers Marguerite Andersen, left, and Chris Knight in Wellington Airport Photo: RNZ / Emile Donovan
On Wellington roads this morning, police had asked drivers to be careful in the foggy conditions.
There were crashes at Pukerua Bay, Johnsonville, and south of the Mungavin on/off ramp, causing delays, but no major injuries.
MetService forecaster Tuporo Marsters said fog last night also disrupted some airport operations.
Meanwhile, further north, heavy rain was causing problems for Auckland, with some motorists and buildings affected by flooding.