Passengers were told by the captain the issue could not be fixed in Rarotonga, so they needed to return to Auckland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was on this flight. We had a malfunction with a speed reading device… [and] with no engineer or spare part in Rarotonga to fix once it landed,\u201d one passenger posted on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo [we were] diverted back to Auckland. The entire flight\u2019s passengers are now rebooked or being rebooked on flights … up until as far as Saturday [April 4] due to seat availability.\u201d<\/p>\n
A problem also struck the NZ992 flight bound for Samoa the same day, which had to return to Auckland. It is understood passengers on board a flight destined for Fiji last week faced a similar situation.<\/p>\n
An image from FlightRadar24 showing NZ946, bound for Rarotonga, heading back to Auckland.<\/p>\n
A woman whose daughter, son-in-law and children were on the Samoa-bound flight said they had to wait for up to four hours before they were booked into a hotel room.<\/p>\n
\u201cWaiting in line for up to four hours and speaking to others in the queue, the underlying complaint has been the total lack of communication by the airline and scarcity of updates,\u201d the woman told the Herald.<\/p>\n
Air NZ chief operations officer for inflight and ground Kate Boyer said: \u201cNZ946 to Rarotonga and NZ992 to Samoa both returned to Auckland on Sunday afternoon with separate engineering requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth aircraft underwent inspections in Auckland and have returned to service. Customers have now been rebooked to travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe apologise for the disruption to travel plans and appreciate our customers\u2019 patience and understanding. The safety of our customers and crews is our utmost priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flight cancelled over \u2018cabin odour\u2019<\/p>\n
The issue comes after several flights to Samoa<\/a> were cancelled because of the ongoing international fuel crisis<\/a>. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, an Air NZ flight from Melbourne to Auckland was cancelled on Sunday because of an odour in the cabin, passengers were told.<\/p>\n In an email sent to affected passengers, the airline said: \u201cRegrettably, a cabin odour has been detected on board the aircraft scheduled to operate your service.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a precaution, the aircraft requires engineering attention and is no longer able to operate your flight today.\u201d<\/p>\n Affected passengers were able to get accommodation and a $90 per person meal allowance.<\/p>\n A frustrated passenger said there was a \u201clack of timely communications\u201d to customers.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth Melbourne and Auckland airports were a complete shambles,\u201d the passenger said.<\/p>\n