When heading on vacation, a long flight usually ends up with a rewarding outcome. Unfortunately, passengers on a recent flight from New Zealand landed at the exact same airport they took off from after spending 16 hours in the air.
The Air New Zealand nonstop flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York had to turn around mid flight when they received word that an electrical fire at the New York airport had led to Terminal 1 being closed.
The plane was around 2,000 miles from California when the call was sent out, meaning the flight still had time to turn around and head back to New Zealand. Unlucky passengers had to spend 16 hours on the airplane, which landed at the same airport where their journey began.
“Diverting to another U.S. port would have meant the aircraft would remain on the ground for several days, impacting a number of other scheduled services and customers,” an airline spokeswoman said.
Terminal 1 remained closed the next day as crews repaired the issues caused by the electrical fire. The airline did issue an apology to passengers and said that those aboard the flight would be booked on the next available to New York.
Source: https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/1626359303501234178