A North Canterbury woman is "really gutted" her family has to fork out nearly $500 for airfares from Auckland to Great Barrier Island after missing their flight this afternoon because of the air traffic control power outage that grounded domestic flights.
Lydia Armstrong, her husband, daughter and three sons from Conway Flat are still rebuilding their lives three years after the Kaikōura earthquake.
A power supply failure caused a fire alarm at the Airways NZ Christchurch radar centre and halted domestic departures nationwide for a time this afternoon.
Ms Armstrong and family were due to fly from Christchurch to Auckland on a 1pm Air New Zealand flight, enroute to Great Barrier Island for a holiday with friends living on the island.
But after the captain announced a "major communications and radar outage" while they were on the Christchurch runway, they taxied back to the gate and sat on the plane for about an hour-and-a-half before finally taking off about 2.45pm.
In Auckland, Ms Armstrong and her 10-year-old daughter raced to get to the Fly My Sky airline's kiosk but found doors in the stairwell locked. And by the time they got to the counter they found their 4pm plane had left without the family minutes earlier.
Ms Armstrong told 1 NEWS Now she did ring Fly My Sky from Christchurch and from the Auckland tarmac, but the flight took off anyway without the family.
She said they've had to pay nearly $300 "to stay in a crummy Auckland motor lodge".
She said Fly My Sky won't transfer the family to the next flight to Great Barrier at 6.55am tomorrow, and they have to pay the full fare again which adds up to nearly $500.
Ms Armstrong said she's "really gutted" and she had also spoken to Air New Zealand who couldn't offer refunds either.
"It's just that lack of care. These companies don't care. There's no personal touch or service there," she said.
"With a husband and children it's a significant financial hit."
Ms Armstrong said she could have purchased travel insurance but didn't think it was necessary and now thinks she'll "think twice next time".
The experience has been another blow to the family who are building a new house three years on from the Kaikōura earthquake and were looking forward to a break away.
But Ms Armstrong said she's sure once they're actually on Great Barrier Island they'll forget all the trouble's they've had.
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