An Air New Zealand flight to Auckland was grounded in Christchurch this morning after the aircraft's main wheels rolled into grass and soft ground near the taxiway.
The A320, registration ZK-OJS, should have departed at 5.45am, but it became firmly wedged and was still stuck in Christchurch at 7am, according to flight-tracking data.
Flight NZ582 had been preparing to depart when the incident occurred, the airline said.
Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said the aircraft's main wheels "came into contact with the grass beside the taxiway" during pushback.
He said all customers had disembarked safely and the aircraft had remained in place.
"Our team is working to put on a new flight to Auckland for impacted customers later this morning," McGraw said.
Do you know more? Contact us at news@tvnz.co.nz
A passenger told Stuff the captain originally said it would take three tugs to free the aircraft, before updating them just before 7am that they were not going anywhere.
"Will take some serious grunt to pull us free, wheels have sunk," the passenger said.
McGraw said staff were working to safely return the aircraft to the gate so bags could be unloaded and an engineering assessment could be completed.
"We thank everyone onboard for their patience and understanding while we work to get them safely to their destination," he said.
A Christchurch Airport spokesperson referred media inquiries to Air New Zealand.
SHARE ME