Malaysia Airlines flight MH132 from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur was grounded for over 48 hours due to safety concerns due to technical problems.

"Safety is of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines.

"The delay was necessary due to the grounding of the A330-300 aircraft to address the technical problem," said MAS in a statement.

"The immediate replacements of parts required for the aircraft was unfortunately unavailable in New Zealand and Australia, hence the prolonged delay of the flight," it further said.

The flight was originally scheduled to depart Auckland at 12.55am on Saturday and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6.45am the same day.

It was later rescheduled to depart at midnight on March 27 and arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 5.50am the same day.

New Zealand media this morning reported that the flight had eventually departed at about 1.30am today.

The reports also quoted frustrated passengers who said they had not received any accommodation assistance from MAS during the delay.

Some were forced to sleep at the airport, while others paid for their own accommodations outside.

Stuff.co quoted New Zealand holidaymakers Tashjian Barklie, 22, and Mighky Emia, 26, who were scheduled to have a two-day stop over in Kuala Lumpur while en route to the Philippines.

"We've just got to wait. It's just a total waste of money. We've paid to stay in accommodation, we've had to pay for extra food," Barklie was reported saying.

Responding to the complaints, MAS in its statement clarified that all affected guests had been given meal vouchers.

"However, we truly regret that we were unable to provide accommodation for some passengers due to the unavailability of rooms in Auckland.

"We exhausted all avenues albeit unsuccessfully and our guests will be duly compensated," said MAS, reiterating that it deeply regrets any inconvenience caused to its customers.