Air New Zealand flight 26, which was scheduled to depart Auckland Airport for Chicago on Friday, June 23rd, was forced to return to Auckland due to a fuel usage discrepancy. The plane, a four-year-old Boeing 787-9, took off at 21:17 and headed east before turning north to begin its journey over the Pacific. About an hour into the flight, the plane turned south and rerouted back to Auckland.
In a statement, Air New Zealand Head of Flight Operations Hugh Pearce said that the aircraft returned to Auckland as a precaution so it could undergo an engineering inspection. He said that the discrepancy was discovered just over an hour after departure.
The plane landed back in Auckland at 00:37 on Saturday, June 24th. Air New Zealand said that it was working to rebook passengers on other flights to Chicago. The incident is likely to have disrupted passengers who were trying to get to Chicago as soon as possible. However, the airline seemed to assist passengers with their needs.
Additional details about the incident:
- The plane was carrying 285 passengers and 18 crew members.
- The fuel usage discrepancy was not immediately clear, but it is possible that there was a problem with the plane's fuel gauges.
- The plane was inspected by engineers after it landed in Auckland, and they were unable to find any problems with the aircraft.
- Air New Zealand said that the plane would be back in service once the engineers had completed their investigation.