Air NZ flight to New York turns back midway through 16-hour trip

A terminal closure at JFK Airport in New York caused Air New Zealand flight NZ2 to turn back halfway through the flight and return to Auckland.

The flight will still take the expected 16 hours, but passengers will disembark the plane back at Auckland Airport instead of their intended destination.

It departed at 8pm Thursday and is expected to land in Auckland around midday today.

The terminal closure was caused by an electrical fire in terminal 1, an Air New Zealand spokesperson said.

"Diverting to another US port would have meant the aircraft would remain on the ground for several days, impacting a number of other scheduled services and customers."

"The flight is now returning to Auckland where customers will be rebooked on the next available service," the spokesperson said.

More on this topic

Air NZ's first-ever direct flight to New York takes off

It comes as the airline's looking to come back from pandemic losses.

Business

September 17, 2022

3:03

Air NZ boss defends chaotic start to direct New York service

Strong headwinds forced the airline to offer 15 passengers around $2500 each to not board today's flight to Auckland.

New Zealand

September 26, 2022

2:25

Luggage left behind by Air NZ's first non-stop flight from NY

The airline's first direct flight from New York touched down at Auckland Airport this morning but not without a hiccup.

New Zealand

September 19, 2022

Air New Zealand said they "will be on hand" to help impacted customers with their travel arrangements but have not yet given any details.

It comes shortly after several other international flights bound for Auckland were forced to turn around as Cyclone Gabrielle saw Auckland Airport closed, spending hours in the air only to get nowhere.