Passengers onboard an Emirates flight had to endure a 13.5-hour journey to nowhere after their flight to New Zealand was forced to turn back mid-flight after Auckland Airport suspended all operations as flood water deluged terminal buildings, runways and taxiways.
Emirates flight EK448 departed Dubai just before 11am on Friday, but at nearly the halfway point into the 15-and-a-half-hour flight to Auckland, the pilots of the A380 aircraft made the difficult decision to turn around and head straight back to Dubai.
In an advisory posted on the Emirates website, the airline confirmed: “Flight EK448 from Dubai to Auckland on January 27 has returned to Dubai.” The flight finally departed on January 29 at 10.20am Dubai local time.
Due to severe weather conditions and heavy flooding in Auckland, Auckland Airport (AKL) was closed for international arrivals and departures over the weekend.
Several other Emirates flights to Auckland have been cancelled, and some are facing delays of over four hours.
Flight EK448 from Dubai to Auckland on January 28 was delayed by four hours. The flight departed at 2.20pm local time. However, Emirates resumed operations to Auckland on Sunday after airport authorities in New Zealand re-opened the airport. While flight operations resumed on January 29, Auckland Airport warned passengers to expect disruptions for the next several days.
The airline confirmed that operations for Flight EK449 from Auckland to Dubai on both 29 and 30 January are unaffected and are planned to operate according to schedule.
Emirates said it would continue to monitor the situation in Auckland and issue updates where required.
An American Airlines flight from Dallas to Auckland also turned back mid-flight after hearing the news out of Auckland. Flight AA35 departed Dallas Fort Worth just before 11pm local time and was five hours into its journey when it had to turn around and fly back to Dallas.
