An aviation official says he's "hopping mad" over the latest drone incident near Auckland Airport this afternoon caused a halt to all landing planes for 30 minutes and the diversion of two flights.

Source: istock.com

Police say they were notified to two drones operating in the Auckland Airport airspace around 2:50pm.

The Civil Aviation Authority says one of the drones was flying at an altitude of approximately 1,200 feet and was three nautical miles from runway 05 in the direction of Manukau.

Air Traffic Control was able to divert flights away from the area and all incoming flights were held from landing for 30 minutes.

Police are actively looking in the area for the drone operator.

Deputy Director General Aviation Steve Moore says he's "hopping mad" over this latest incident.

"Pilots and their passengers should be able to take off and land at our airports without the added risk of a drone coming into contact with their aircraft," Mr Moore said.

"The idiots who are doing this are putting people's lives at risk and need to be identified before something catastrophic happens. The safety of the travelling public cannot be compromised by thoughtless fools flying drones illegally in the airport zones.

"We are calling on the public who live or work in and around Auckland airport to report any person who is operating a drone close to the airport," Mr Moore continued.

A drone was involved in a near miss with an Air New Zealand international flight approaching Auckland Airport on the afternoon of Sunday March 25, which the airline said put the safety of 278 passengers and crew at risk.

Flight operations at Auckland Airport were halted for 30 minutes on March 6 when an Air New Zealand pilot reported a drone within controlled airspace.

Dangerous use of drones can be reported to the CAA either by emailing isi@caa.govt.nz or calling 0508 472 338.

The CAA website has more information on the rules for flying drones.