7:40 am today

Air NZ flight to Melbourne forced to turn back to Auckland

7:40 am today
A photo taken on August 9, 2021 shows an Air New Zealand plane taking off from Auckland Airport with the national carrier managing to cut its losses by a third in the last financial year

Photo: AFP

An Air New Zealand flight to Melbourne had to return to Auckland on Wednesday because of a technical issue with the Airbus A-320.

Air New Zealand says it was a "minor" issue with NZ125 and the decision to return was made so the plane could be assessed.

Chief operational integrity and safety officer David Morgan said the aircraft needed to circle before landing in Auckland to meet weight requirements for landing.

There were no safety risks to passengers on board, he said. The aircraft was now back in service and passengers either took later flights on Wednesday or would travel on Thursday.

As a consequence of NZ125's return to Auckland, an evening flight from Melbourne to Christchurch was cancelled last night due to crew being stranded in Auckland.

Last week an Air New Zealand flight to Hong Kong was forced to turn back to Aucklandtwo-and-a-half hours into the flight.

The Boeing 787-9 had issues with the anti-ice function inside one of its engines.