A Dunedin motorist whose car was written off after crashing while trying to reach Dunedin International Airport during last week's snowstorm is blaming Air New Zealand for being slow to react.
And the motorist has the support of Dunedin airport chief executive John McCall, who yesterday told the Otago Daily Times the airline could do better.
Reece Check (38) was to drive his parents to the airport last Tuesday morning, at the end of the couple's holiday in the city.
He risked the snow flurries after repeatedly checking the airport's website for updates on the status of his parents' 8.20am Air New Zealand flight to Palmerston North.
The website - providing information updated by airlines - continued to advise the flight would depart on time, even as police on television warned against non-essential travel, he said.
"As far as I was concerned, with the website saying everything was still on schedule, it was essential I get them [his parents] to the airport.
"Otherwise, I would have stayed at home," Mr Check said.
He managed to drive just 500m before skidding on snow and ice covering Taieri Rd, shortly before 7am.
He "bounced off one car and crashed into two other cars".
His 1996 Toyota Caldina was this week written off by insurers, with damage estimated at $6000.
Mr Check said he looked at the website again after walking home, at 7.45am, and it still listed the flight as scheduled to depart.
It was cancelled "about 8am or shortly after", just 20 minutes before departure.
Yesterday, Mr McCall said it was obvious from "7 o'clock in the morning or before" no aircraft would be using the airport that morning, with fresh blizzards and ice meaning a snowplough failed to keep the runway open.
"It was very, very clear nothing was going to be arriving or departing at that time of day," he said.
The airport's website - and screens inside the terminal - displayed information provided and updated by airlines, called the flight information display system (FIDS), he said.
Airline staff were often "very, very busy" when weather caused travel problems, but better use of FIDS could reduce the workload by encouraging passengers watching the website to stay home, he believed.
"It's all very well making the announcement in the terminal building . . .
"I think there could be some improvements to their update of the FIDS system," he said.
However, airline spokesman Mark Street, of Auckland, defended the airline's handling of the snowstorm, saying flights had been the victim of unexpectedly bad conditions.
A delayed Air New Zealand flight due to land at 8am was to provide the 8.20am flight from Dunedin, and ground staff inspecting the runway had predicted ice would clear in time for a landing by the inbound aircraft, he said.
However, further inspections as the sun rose found more ice than expected on the runway and the incoming flight was advised to turn back to Christchurch as it passed over Oamaru about 8am, Mr Street said.
The airline's flight information was updated "within a few minutes", once the pilot completed his turn, and the change immediately relayed to the airport's system, which updated "every five minutes or so", he said.
There were no plans to offer compensation, he said.
"We are not responsible for an individual's driving actions.
"It was clearly a bad day in Dunedin."
