Kate Hawkesby: Looks like Auckland Airport is improving

I come to you today with – fingers crossed – great news.  

I say fingers crossed because let’s hope it lasts, I don’t want to be accused of speaking too soon, but I’m hearing reports that Auckland airport is on the improve. For starters, it’s opened an express lane. Very heartened by the headline yesterday which read, “Auckland Airport trials screening Express Lane to cut down unacceptable wait times”. I mean is that not music to all of our ears?

 

I was reading a text to you guys yesterday about the listener who had paid extra to fly home via Christchurch airport purely to avoid travelling through Auckland. We’ve been aghast at the number of messages, emails, texts and complaints from people saying how chaotic Auckland airport is. How long it takes, how shambolic it is, how disorganised... not enough staff, staff who don’t know what they’re doing, lack of communication, just general mayhem. And this has been going on for months. So if they’re onto sorting that already, fantastic.  

Because don’t forget Greg Foran from Air NZ even got involved and said he'd have it sorted by Xmas, which at the time, seemed nigh on impossible given the state of it. And also, not his problem, but obviously he has a vested interest in it working smoothly. But I’m hearing already, things are on the improve. To a point. Depends when you travel.   

A couple of people messaged me yesterday saying they’d come in through Auckland Airport this week with absolutely no issues and in good quick time. But my brother and sister-in-law came through it yesterday and said it’s still hit and miss. The new trials of things are underway, but not all seamless yet.  

So while screening may have an express lane to speed things up and move a bit quicker, customs can still be a bit cumbersome. The trial of the new digitised arrival cards works for some people, but not others. I’ve heard mixed reports on those – sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I also hear they’re trialling a new scheme whereby those digital arrival cards can be scanned a variety of ways on entry, again, it’s hit and miss.  

But look, any and all attempts to iron out the issues at the gateway to our country are gratefully appreciated. It’s long overdue and it’s so critically important given Auckland is the welcome mat for so many to our country.  

I did have to laugh when I read the airport spokesperson who said, “the New Zealand arrivals process is a complex one with many moving parts.” I mean is that or is that not directly from the Labour party playbook? It’s all a bit complex. Saying stuff is complex these days will excuse you from just about anything, corporates in particular love saying it. “It’s a bit complex.” The irony there is, it’s no more complex than what every single other airport in the entire world deals with, and some of the busiest airports – way busier than Auckland’s, still manage to pull it off without making people wait two hours.  

So I live in hope that we are on the way to having Auckland airport fixed for travellers. It’s had a really bad rep, it’s taken a beating, so no doubt they’re keen to have it ironed out too and restore a bit of credibility. I don’t doubt extra resource has been thrown at it to cover off the school holiday period, which ends this weekend, so I guess the real test is whether after that it’s still on the improve.  

I know you guys will let me know if it’s not. 

Kate Hawkesby is a journalist and broadcaster who hosts the Early Edition show on Newstalk ZB.