Auckland Airport is again facing scrutiny after passengers faced hour-long delays clearing security checks exiting or entering the country. 

Calls for a review came from passengers in the past week after facing “unacceptable” wait times at security screening. Regular travellers said it was not a one off. 

On Sunday, Dame Helen Clark suggested there were questions to address after facing similar delays only the week before. 

“Exactly the same last Sunday when I was there. Are there systemic issues to be addressed? Processes, staff? Equipment? Space?” she asked via social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 

Some unlucky passengers who were affected by a last-minute cancellation told the Herald they spent as long clearing security entering and leaving the airport as they did airside. 

Max Montgomery, who was travelling to Sydney on NZ111, just made it through Aviation Security (AvSec) screening and on to the plane when they were told the service had been cancelled. 

Passengers then “had to hop off and go back through border security where we weren’t able to use the machine lanes”, said Montgomery. 

“Even though we hadn’t left the country, we still weren’t able to use the express lane.” 

Among those travelling on NZ111 were parents with young children and those trying to get home to Australia, who had to be offered overnight accommodation for replacement flights. 

The travellers booked for the 4pm flight had still not been able to check into the hotel until 9pm, which Montgomery said had been “overwhelmed” by disrupted passengers and meal vouchers. 

While there were long delays in luggage handling and Customs and passport control, it was departing passengers who faced the longest delays last weekend. 

Aviation Security oversees screening for departing passengers that was adding to long delays for passengers and departing aircraft. 

Only 13 per cent of flights met their on-time performance on Sunday afternoon, meaning they were within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure. Flights were being delayed by an average of 38 minutes as they waited for passengers to clear screening. 

Last night travellers told the Herald they faced a mad rush to clear departures and would never have made flights had they left on time. 

“My face is red and sweaty after a 23-minute dash from the customs hall to gate 18, the furthest gate, but I made it,” said one. 

Yesterday AvSec said some of the delays were due to mechanical issues with screening machines. 

Customs said it was aware of longer-than-usual queues at departures yesterday, but it was unable to do anything to speed up the processing from their end. 

“Customs was appropriately staffed and our e-gates were working as expected, but because of other challenges in the airport system there was a passenger backlog which extended through the Customs area,” said Christoph Ernst, chief customs officer passenger experience. 

At the time a spokesperson for Auckland Airport said “there was a short period of congestion within Auckland Airport’s international terminal departures area”. Airport staff were reportedly deployed to assist passengers and keep “passenger flows moving smoothly” while they waited for congestion to clear. 

With regards to passengers affected by cancellations, they were aware that many experienced longer-than-average wait times during the afternoon peak arrivals. Unfortunately, travellers beyond border and security processing were required to be reprocessed to leave the airport. 

“We can understand how frustrating this will have been for passengers ready to travel, but it is an important part of the airport process regulated by the Civil Aviation Act,” said a spokesperson for Auckland Airport. 

The airport was also aware of delays to bag returns on several arriving flights as airline baggage handling teams worked to offload aircraft. 

Air New Zealand apologised to passengers booked to travel on NZ111, saying the service had been cancelled by a maintenance issue that they were “unable to resolve before departure”. 

How early should you arrive for an international flight from Auckland Airport? 

The Civil Aviation Authority and AvSec recommend passengers arrive as early as possible to clear screening. 

The recommended time is 90 minutes for domestic flights and three hours for international departures. The agencies also publish anticipated peak times for screening via the Government’s Aviation website. 

However, there are times like Sunday when the queues are not predicted. 

Air New Zealand general manager of airports Kate Boyer said it worked closely with airports to determine the minimum time for connecting flights or boarding services, but this was not a perfect process. 

“From time to time, increased demand can result in delays for customers getting through airports,” she said. 

Where passengers are delayed by airport operations, they will hold departures. 

“Our teams closely monitor airport processing times and, depending on the circumstances, we can delay aircraft departures if significant airport queues are impacting customers’ ability to make a connection”. 

How long should it take for Auckland Airport arrivals to get through screening? 

Last weekend’s delays come six months after agencies were prompted to improve screening due to unacceptable wait times for arrivals. 

In September, Biosecurity NZ implemented express lanes to clear backlogs by inviting “low risk” passengers with nothing to declare to take an expedited route through biosecurity. 

It is understood passengers on the cancelled NZ111 flight were not required to go through biosecurity screening, as non-international arrivals. 

A spokesperson for MPI Biosecurity NZ says processing times were unaffected for arrivals on Sunday afternoon. 

However, biosecurity is just one part of a complex and multi-stage security clearance process to enter the country. With several agencies, Biosecurity, AvSec and Customs each overseeing a different layer of screening for passengers entering the country — on top of luggage reclaim — wait time can soon add up. With no single agency keeping track of overall processing times, it is hard to identify which part of the lengthy arrivals screening processes is failing. 

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) gives 45 minutes as the maximum wait for normal customs and border checks. 

The optimal, expected processing time is just 20 minutes. 

A spokesperson for Auckland Airport said that since the introduction of the express lane, queue times had improved by 20 per cent, and had been well received by travellers. 

Last year it took an average of 30 minutes between travellers disembarking their plane and exiting to the international arrivals hall.