Investigation reveals source of fire at Wellington Airport

Saturday, 13 June 2026

Wellington Airport was evacuated on Friday night after a fire broke out.

Passengers were evacuated to the tarmac, while some others were stuck on planes, just before 9pm.

The airport has since confirmed wiring inside a wall cavity was the source of the blaze.

Wiring inside a wall cavity was to blame for a fire that forced the evacuation of Wellington Airport on Friday night.

Passengers were evacuated to the tarmac while others were stuck on planes as smoke filled the regional departure lounge just before 9pm.

Flights were temporarily diverted as a result, but no-one was reported to be hurt in the incident.

Wellington Airport confirmed the fire was out in an update shortly before 12am, saying international flights scheduled to arrive later in the night would arrive on time.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for the airport told Stuff that Fire and Emergency New Zealand had investigated and traced the source of the fire to wiring inside a wall cavity.

“We will be doing further work to establish more detail.”

The main terminal building at the airport and the southwest pier were evacuated after a smoke alarm was triggered.

National MP Tim Costley was arriving on board an aircraft when the incident unfolded.

He said passengers remained on planes while emergency services worked to bring the situation under control.

“We just sit here and wait until it’s safe for us to get off.”

Costley said he could see multiple fire engines responding and smoke coming from part of the terminal building.

At the time, he said his impression was that conditions inside the terminal were deteriorating.

“The situation inside the terminal is getting worse, not better,” he said.

The airport has been operating as usual on Saturday.