About 300 Air New Zealand passengers had their flights to Auckland disrupted last night when a closed runway forced three 737s to divert to Wellington or Christchurch.
Air New Zealand spokesman Mark Street said hydraulic oil from a 737 leaked on to a runway and it had to be cleared up before aircraft could land.
"Aircraft only carry so much fuel, so they made a decision to go back to their points of origin - Wellington or Christchurch."
He said engineers would look at the cause of the leakage overnight. It did not endanger passengers or aircraft.
Mr Street was notified of the spillage about 9.30pm, and it was cleaned up about 10pm.
Airport runway closed to clean oil spill
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