A damaged Air New Zealand plane is now undergoing repairs after it flew across the Tasman at a lower altitude yesterday due to puncture damage to the fuselage.
The Boeing 777 returned without being pressurised and at around 10,000ft after it was damaged while pushing back from its gate at Brisbane Airport on Thursday.
The plane's service to Auckland had to be cancelled as a result, with a full inspection undertaken by a ground engineering team.
"We sincerely apologise for the disruption and appreciate the patience of our customers as we work to rebook them on the next available flights," Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren said on Thursday.
The airline told 1News there had been puncture damage to a "very small section" of the aircraft's skin. The puncture was around 7cm wide and below the captain's window.
Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said the engineering team consulted with Boeing on the appropriate repair approach and that the aircraft was already scheduled to travel to Singapore as part of routine maintenance.
"Once repairs are completed in Auckland, the aircraft will continue to Singapore on Wednesday as originally planned for scheduled maintenance.
"Because this ground time was planned, the additional repairs will not affect the overall schedule or impact any customer travel plans."
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