A New Zealand-bound Emirates flight was forced to make a u-turn halfway through its journey due to heavy rains and flooding in Auckland.
Emirates flight forced to ‘fly on’
Passengers on an Emirates flight from Dubai to New Zealand had to endure around 13 hours in the air, only to end up right where they’d started.
As reported by Business Insider, the New Zealand-bound flight EK448 departed Dubai International Airport at around 10:30 on Friday, 27 January, but had to quickly do a u-turn almost halfway through its 14 200 km journey because of heavy rains and major flooding in Auckland, New Zealand.
The flight landed back in Dubai shortly after midnight, flight data revealed.
“We regret the inconvenience caused to customers. Emirates will continue to monitor the situation in Auckland and issue updates where required.” a spokesperson for Emirates told Business Insider.
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Bad weather
Inclement weather in New Zealand caused Auckland International Airport to shut its domestic and international terminals on Friday, after heavy rain caused serious chaos and triggered a local state of emergency.
The weather also severly hindered local travel in Auckland and saw more than 2 000 people staying overnight within the airport terminals due to the flooding, Auckland Airport reported.
Auckland airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui said that it had been a consequential event for them.
“This has been a significant event that has put our city into a state of emergency, and certainly the airport has never been tested in this way before. But the delay to reopening is necessary to ensure travelers’ safety.” Hurihanganui said.
