NEW DELHI, Jan 30: An Emirates flight was in the air for over 13 hours but the passengers to their dismay found that they have landed back at the same airport from where they had taken off hours ago.
In an unusual incident, the flight EK448 had taken off around 10.30 A.M. local time from Dubai on Friday bound for Auckland, New Zealand, but after flying for about 13 hours, the plane landed back at Dubai at around midnight on Saturday, media reports said. The pilot made a U-turn just over halfway through the almost 1,500 kilometres trip to eventually land back in Dubai.
This was because of severe flooding at Auckland Airport which resulted in the closing down of the airport over the weekend. Auckland Airport authorities took to Twitter and said “it is extremely frustrating” but important with regards to the safety of the passengers. “Auckland Airport has been assessing the damage to our international terminal and unfortunately determined that no international flights can operate today. We know this is extremely frustrating but the safety of passengers is our top priority,” they said.
Furthermore, they said that no international departures could take place until 5 am on January 29. The airport authorities added, “No international passenger arrivals at Auckland Airport until 7 am, Sunday 29 January.”
The Airport resumed operations on Sunday after it was left completely flooded as per videos circulated on social media. Incessant rainfalls led to flooding making the passengers wade through water at the airport.
According to reports, Auckland witnessed “its worst downpour on record” on Friday. The state of emergency continues in New Zealand’s largest city as it braces for more heavy rains this week. At least four people died in the severe flooding. Videos on social media show residents stuck in waist-deep water with rescue operations being conducted on kayaks.
(Manas Dasgupta)
