Wellington Airport partially evacuated after smoke alarm activation

Wellington Airport was partially evacuated this afternoon after a smoke alarm was activated.

The capital airport's southwest pier was briefly evacuated, with Fire and Emergency NZ alerted just before 2.20pm and two crews responding — one from Kilbirnie and one from Newtown.

"The area was quickly cleared for re-entry. There will be a delay to NZ436 as a result of the required rescreening," a Wellington Airport spokesperson told 1News.

After some time, passengers were allowed back into the terminal, but had to be rescreened through security before continuing on to their gates.

One passenger told 1News this led to large queues forming, with a delay of at least 20 minutes advised as the airport worked through the backlog.