'Hydraulic issue': Air NZ flight to Gisborne sent back to Auckland

An Air New Zealand flight has turned around after its crew discovered a "hydraulic issue".

Flight NZ5171 departed Auckland at 5.20pm bound for Gisborne, but turned around over the Eastern Bay of Plenty and diverted back to Auckland Airport, where it landed about an hour after taking off.

Air New Zealand Chief Risk and Safety Officer Nathan McGraw the flight was turned around following a system indication of a "hydraulic issue".

"The aircraft landed safely, with emergency services on standby as a precaution."

FlightRadar showed the flight was surrounded by airport emergency vehicles shortly after landing.

Engineers were inspecting the aircraft before it could return to service, McGraw said.

"We apologise for the disruption and are working to get affected customers to their destinations as soon as possible. We thank them for their patience and understanding."

An Auckland Airport spokesperson confirmed emergency services were on standby on Saturday evening for an aircraft that reported issues after departure.

"The aircraft has since landed safely, and emergency services have stood down."

The incident was not impacting other flights, and both international and domestic terminals were operating as normal, they said.

Earlier, a mechanical issue with a plane on the Auckland Airport runway forced several flights to be diverted on Saturday morning.

McGraw said at the time that plane had a fault with its braking system.

rnz.co.nz