An Emirates flight to New Zealand had to turn around midway through its flight as the torrential rain which hit Auckland forced the closure of the airport.
EK448 had departed Dubai just before 11am on Friday (local time) and was halfway through its 15-and-a-half-hour journey before the decision was made to head back to the United Arab Emirates.
Auckland was hit by heavy rain during the day causing extensive flooding which also forced the closure of the domestic and international terminals.
There will be no flights into or out of Auckland until noon on Saturday at the earliest, the airport said in a statement overnight. The airport’s closure came hours after a landing plane hit and damaged several runway lights, causing major delays to flights.
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The Emirates A380 wasn’t the only long-haul flight which had to turn around on Friday.
An American Airlines service from Dallas Fort Worth to Auckland had to return to Texas after a 10-hour flight to nowhere.
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The A380 had to turn around midflight due to flooding at Auckland Airport.
Photos from Auckland Airport show passengers wading through water at check-in.
Customers who are due to fly today have been advised to visit the Air New Zealand travel alerts page for updates.
People ticketed to travel between now and January 30 for flights to, through and from Auckland have two options, the airport said overnight. They can choose to hold the value of their fare in credit for 12 months, from the time they request a credit.
Alternatively, those booked to travel on affected flights can transfer their travel to another date or destination up to and including Monday, February 6.
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Flooding forced the closure of the airport.
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