Strong winds in Wellington on Jan. 11 led to extensive disruption across airline schedules, underscoring the operational and claims exposure that severe weather poses for New Zealand’s travel and aviation markets.
Wellington Airport reported “around 81 cancelled flights in total [on Jan. 11] due to the extreme wind,” according to a statement provided to 1News. The cancellations coincided with MetService strong‑wind warnings for inland and high‑country Canterbury, Marlborough, and much of the Wellington region, alongside heat alerts as temperatures rose in several parts of the country. Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren said the conditions affected services across the carrier’s network. She said high winds on Jan. 11 caused “widespread disruption across our network,” including about 50 weather‑related cancellations to and from Wellington. “To minimise disruption, we proactively offered flexibility to customers travelling to or from Wellington, allowing them to change their flights to another time, subject to availability. Due to the number of customers who required rebooking, seat availability into Wellington will be limited over the next couple of days,” she said, thanking customers for their “patience and understanding.”
Jetstar cancelled four flights in and out of the capital and moved affected passengers to alternative services. “Safety is always our top priority, and we thank customers for their understanding and patience,” a Jetstar spokesperson said. By Jan. 12 morning, MetService said all watches and warnings had expired, with temperatures expected to moderate and conditions to return closer to seasonal norms over the following days.
The Wellington disruption sits against a wider pattern of climate‑related events contributing to higher travel insurance utilisation by New Zealanders. Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) analysed climate‑related claims from customers travelling globally between July 1, 2024, and July 30, 2025. Over that period, the insurer paid 425 such claims, totalling $593,497, with an overall average payment of $1,137. By event type, SCTI’s data shows:
During Cyclone Alfred in Australia, SCTI received 65 claims from New Zealand policyholders, predominantly for cancellation and itinerary changes before departure. At that stage, the insurer had paid more than $29,635 on those claims, with a further amount of over $100,000 forecast. An additional 44 travellers contacted SCTI for assistance and clarification about their options amid disrupted travel plans. Locally, major events have also driven substantial travel‑related costs. SCTI reports 1,425 claims totalling $816,086 linked to the Auckland Anniversary floods, and 722 claims worth more than $479,000 in relation to Cyclone Gabrielle.
Recent case studies illustrate how multiple weather‑related incidents can extend the duration and cost of a single journey. One SCTI claim involved a family returning to New Zealand from Japan whose flights were cancelled after flooding affected Auckland Airport on Jan. 28, 2023. The family were initially unable to reach their airline due to call volumes and added an extra hotel night in Tokyo while looking for alternatives. They then purchased new tickets to Auckland via Kuala Lumpur, planning a two‑week stay in Malaysia before travelling home in mid‑February. That onward flight was later cancelled due to Cyclone Gabrielle, requiring another rebooking. The family eventually flew from Kuala Lumpur back to New Zealand on Feb. 17. Across the sequence of disruptions, SCTI paid more than $25,000 for accommodation and airfare costs.
Other paid weather‑related examples include:
For travel insurers and intermediaries, such scenarios demonstrate exposure across cancellation, additional expenses, and accommodation‑related cover when itineraries are repeatedly affected by separate weather systems.
SCTI indicates that, while climate‑related risks are being monitored, core coverage terms have not yet shifted significantly. “We are not seeing this yet – but like all insurers it is something we are keeping an eye on. Insurance is there to support you for the unexpected. And weather events like flash floods and storms are tending to happen quickly, sometimes without notice,” the insurer said. The company has drawn particular attention to when customers buy their policies. It noted that insurers such as SCTI are “likely to cover any claims for travellers already in an affected area, who had departed on their journey or who had already purchased a policy for travel to the region before the event was known. However, you must be directly impacted e.g. you’ve been evacuated from your accommodation or had scheduled transport interrupted.” SCTI advises customers to refer to official government guidance and “always advises customers to follow advice from New Zealand’s MFAT SafeTravel website.” For claims handling, the insurer continues to stress the role of documentation, including airline cancellation notices and receipts for additional accommodation and meal expenses.
According to SCTI, New Zealand travellers are more alert to climate‑related risks and are engaging more actively with policy wording and limits. “We know travellers are more aware. There’s significant media coverage (traditional and social) – and our customers are experiencing extreme weather events first hand,” the insurer said. SCTI’s Future of Travel research found that nearly three in four New Zealanders agree travel insurance is more important now that climate change has made weather patterns unpredictable and natural disasters more likely. When other risk factors are included – such as conflict, an ageing traveller base, and ongoing disruptions – nearly four in five New Zealanders (78%) classify travel insurance as a high priority, up from 76% the year before. “Travellers are asking more questions about their cover, and we encourage this. This means they know how we can support them if things go wrong – exactly what travel insurance is designed to do,” SCTI said.
The insurer also reports growing interest in shoulder‑season travel in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly among older customers adjusting their plans around temperature extremes. At the same time, SCTI notes that shoulder seasons in Aotearoa New Zealand and other regions are themselves subject to variable and, at times, disruptive weather. For New Zealand insurance professionals, the intersection of acute events such as Wellington’s extreme winds and broader climate‑driven volatility is placing greater emphasis on product structure, pre‑event communication, and the operational capacity required to respond to rapid, multi‑event disruption.
