Air New Zealand was forced to take an 11-hour “flight to nowhere” after a plane carrying passengers developed a technical problem.
Flight NZ26 from Auckland has Chicago It was four hours into the scheduled 3 p.m. flight on Wednesday, Nov. 8, when the decision was made to turn around, according to data from the tracking site. FlightRadar24 watch.
After taking off around 8:30 p.m., the Boeing 787 Dreamliner landed in New Zealand at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.
The flight was diverted due to a “technical requirement” that needed to be met, an airline spokesperson said. Thing.
“This resulted in the cancellation of this service as a more thorough inspection had to be carried out on the aircraft upon landing,” they said.
“All customers have now been booked onto the next available service. We thank customers for their patience as we work quickly to return the aircraft to service.
A “flight to nowhere” refers to any flight that ends up landing at its departure airport without stopping elsewhere.
During the pandemic, several airlines have been criticized by environmentalists for selling ‘flights to nowhere’ so travelers can have the experience of flying without leaving the country to avoid border restrictions.
On October 9, hundreds of United Airlines passengers booked from San Francisco to Tel Aviv endured a 13-hour ‘flight to nowhere’ due to Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
Flight UA954 took off at 8:25 p.m. local time on a 7,422-mile journey to Israel’s main airport, Ben Gurion International Airport.
But about halfway through its journey, over eastern Greenland, the Boeing 777 made a 180-degree turn and landed safely in California the next morning.
“The safety of our customers and crews is our top priority. We are closely monitoring the situation and adjusting flight schedules as necessary,” United Airlines said. The independent in an emailed statement at the time.
