The wild weather in Wellington has eased but the headaches for people trying to fly in and out of the capital have not.
More than 180 flights were grounded on Thursday and thousands of passengers' plans disrupted after heavy rain and wild winds lashed the capital - with more facing delays today as airlines scrambled to rebook passengers.
Traveller Alex Nolan's flight to Christchurch was delayed by four hours today, cutting half a day out of her three-day trip to see family.
A nervous flyer generally, she was making the most of the extra wait.
"Our delay does mean that it's a slightly more respectable time to have a wine before we board, so I can't complain," Nolan said.
"It's more difficult with a toddler ... because you get everything all ready to go for the morning and now we will see how we go because the flight is right on nap time so fingers crossed."
The long waits have been harder for some more than others - like for 7-year-old Maryam.
"To be honest, I don't even have patience," she said.
"My mum and dad just let me run around and go to that big dragon thing, and then as a family we just went there and I just ran around, and then they just got me some sugar to make me run around even more to make me tired.
"I'm tired so I'm not running around too much, so I can calm down."
Her dad Ahmed Mustafa said the family was trying to get to Auckland to celebrate his son's graduation and his sister's wedding, but their flight this morning was delayed.
"We [were] waiting for this day since the last three months, calculating the days to attend this occasion," he said.
"But unfortunately, the flight was delayed because of the weather."
People queuing at Wellington Airport after all flights in and out of the capital were cancelled due to the weather. Photo: RNZ / Jake McKee
Another traveller Thomas Wilson was meant to fly out of Wellington on Thursday morning but his flight has been pushed back three times.
"I hate travelling anyway so the whole thing's been a bit of a bore," he said.
"I've spent two days of my holiday so far just waiting for planes that never came."
Wellington Airport said its terminal has been busy today and a busy weekend was on the cards with the school holidays coming to an end.
It was advising travellers to check in online, and get to the airport early.
House of Travel chief operating officer Brent Thomas said the disruptions to travel at the moment were the worst he had ever seen, and it was not just the wild weather wreaking havoc.
"With so many staff away [at] both airlines and airports, it means that trying to get people on another flight actually is difficult. That's further compounded because we just don't have the capacity in the market at the moment. We don't have the number of airlines flying in New Zealand at the moment, nor do we have the number of actual airplanes."
And it's not just travellers who've been impacted by the storm.
Eastbourne local James Aislabie's beloved boat, which was also his home, was smashed to pieces by giant swells, after it came free of its mooring in Lowry Bay.
He lost all his possessions and the home he built from scratch.
A Givealittle page set up by his daughter has collected more than $7000 in donations.
