Jetstar passengers get to fly past Mt Taranaki twice on flight to Nelson

Passengers got to see Mt Taranaki twice on the flight to Nelson. Photo / Karen Herbert

About 35 passengers got more than they bargained for on a Jetstar flight from Auckland to Nelson this afternoon - not one, but two passes near Mt Taranaki.

The Dash aircraft was well on the way to Nelson when it did a u-turn and returned to Auckland more than two hours later.

A Jetstar spokesman said the captain decided to return to Auckland as a precaution because the aircraft's landing gear had not fully stowed after take-off.

The reason the aircraft returned to Auckland and did not touch down in Nelson was because of greater engineering support in Auckland, he said.

It is understood the reason the flight was well en route to Nelson when it turned around is because the crew were in contact with the airline's operational team on the best place to have engineers inspect the aircraft, which was in Auckland.

"We thank customers for their patience as our team works to get them on their way as quickly as possible," the spokesman said.

Herald reporter Cherie Howie, who was on the flight, said the pilot and crew did not inform passengers about a problem until one-and-a-half hours into the flight, even though the passengers knew something was up.

"You do wonder what's going on when one of the pilots comes down the passenger cabin looking out all the passenger windows. Then about 15 minutes later we did a u-turn and I could see Mt Taranaki again, and realised we're going the wrong way.

"It was certainly a strange flight. You don't usually fly past Mt Taranaki twice on a one-way trip to Nelson," said Howie, adding the 50-seat aircraft was about three-quarters full.

The passengers were put on another flight to Nelson about 45 minutes after landing in Auckland.