Jetstar flight turned back after encountering ‘significant turbulence’

Passengers on board a flight from Auckland to Dunedin ended up back where they started after the aircraft encountered "significant" turbulence. Photo / Brett Phibbs

By RNZ

This story was updated on 3 June 2024 at 11.35am to rectify a reference link to say it was Jetstar’s initial indications that pointed to a failure of one of three hydraulic systems as the plane was landing.

A Jetstar aircraft has been forced to re-route mid-flight due to rough conditions - the carrier’s second flight to encounter flight troubles this week.

A flight from Auckland to Dunedin was turned around on Saturday afternoon after facing significant turbulence.

The airline said no one was injured and that the move was precautionary.

It came after a Jetstar flight landing at Christchurch Airport slid off the runway on Friday.

There were no injuries during that incident, but the airport was closed until mid-morning and a number of flights were cancelled.

An investigation into the landing on Friday had been launched by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC).

Jetstar said initial indications are that the Airbus A320 aircraft may have experienced a steering problem linked to failure of one of three hydraulic systems as it was landing.

Just over a week ago, three New Zealanders were injured - one seriously - after a Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence between London and Singapore.

One man was killed and more than 100 people needed medical treatment after the flight.

- RNZ