Flights operating to and from New Zealand’s Queenstown Airport have resumed after surface flooding temporarily suspended services during the early hours on 9 February.

The airport operations remained suspended from 10.15am, while normal operations began at 11.10am.

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Heavy rain and strong winds caused Queenstown Airport to temporarily suspend operations as the runway was completely flooded.

Queenstown Airport general manager of operations Mike Clay said: "The runway is designed to drain rapidly but the sheer volume of rain we received in a short space of time, combined with strong winds holding the rain in place, didn’t allow it to dissipate as quickly as it usually would.

"The sheer volume of rain we received in a short space of time, combined with strong winds holding the rain in place, didn’t allow it to dissipate as quickly as it usually would."

"Our operations team monitored the water levels closely and, once a final runway check was completed, they issued an all-clear at 11.10am to resume normal operations."

According to Civil Aviation Authority policies, aircraft can land and take-off in 3mm of water, while the airport witnessed 11mm flooding in some places.

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The NZ643 flight from Auckland / Christchurch, which was to arrive at 10.20am, was affected due to runway flooding, before being diverted to Christchurch.

The airport noted that other inbound and outbound flights may also be hit with short delays due to flow-on effect.

The airport reported a 34.4% rise in international passenger traffic in December 2014, while its overall passengers rose by 16.3% during the month, compared with the corresponding period in 2013.