Thanks to all those involved in evacuation

07 May 2010

Auckland Airport thanks passengers, visitors and staff for their patience and cooperation when they were inconvenienced last night by the evacuation of the international terminal.

An earthmoving digger working on the Novotel hotel construction site punctured a gas line forcing the evacuation of the public area of the airport's international terminal and adjacent car park.

Engineers from Vector were quickly onsite and by 6.25pm the crew had isolated the leak and were working on a repair.

Traffic to the terminal was diverted during the evacuation and the leak did not endanger aircraft movements. Airport operations were recommenced by 6.30pm with airport staff working swiftly to ensure all passengers were processed and didn’t experience any further delays.

Thanks also to emergency services and engineers.

A full investigation into the incident is underway.

Ends