Air New Zealand flight NZ81 from Auckland to Hong Kong had to return to Auckland mid-flight yesterday after two-and-a-half hours in the air.
In a statement to 1News, Air New Zealand safety officer Captain David Morgan said that the decision to turn back was make because “the aircraft requires the anti-ice function inside one of its engines to be checked by our maintenance team”.
“Doing so in Auckland rather than Hong Kong will ensure the aircraft can return to service much faster.”
There was no risk to the safety of the passengers on board, Morgan said.
“Customers will be accommodated on the next available service and we’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding.”
This is the second Air NZ flight to be turned back this week, with flight NZ289 bound for Shanghai also having to return to Auckland on Tuesday. It spent around nine hours in the air.
According to Air New Zealand, flight NZ289 was “using more oil than usual”, and the crew decided to head back to Auckland where the plane could be checked by the engineering team.
