Yesterday, Auckland passengers expecting a short hop to Dunedin ended up trapped on a four-and-a-half hour service to nowhere. NZ671 departed Auckland at 7.30am for Otago, it was back in Auckland for just after midday.
It would have been quicker to fly to Australia, remarked one plane spotter. Having spent almost an hour and a half in holding patterns over Oamaru, it made a failed landing attempt at 10.30 am.
Pilots had no option but to head back home to Auckland. “Air New Zealand flight NZ671 Auckland to Dunedin has just landed back at Auckland Airport after 4 hours and 30 minutes in the air!” said Wellington-based aviation fanatic Sophean Ngoun via TikTok Air New Zealand flight NZ671 Auckland to Dunedin has just landed back at Auckland Airport after 4 hours and 30 minutes in the air!! New Zealand to Australia takes less 🤯✈️ #fyp #foryou #aviation #airbus #airbus320 #airnz #airnewzealand #divertedflight #cabincrew #badweather The A320 route has suffered some unreliability. This was the second time this week the flight bounced back to Auckland Airport, after a similar detour on Tuesday.
Although the diverts involved two different aircraft, on May 21, NZ671 got as far as Mosgeil before heading back for Tāmaki Makaurau. Passengers and planespotters wanted to know why they didn’t divert to a closer airport, with Invercargill just two hours away by bus. Sophean speculated this was due to fog on the runway and the plane headed back to Auckland due to scheduling requ.
