The flight looped back to Auckland soon after it left. Photo: Supplied / FlightRadar24
An "unusual odour" led to a flight bound for Vancouver returning to Auckland International Airport shortly after takeoff.
The AC40 flight was due to depart Auckland at 2pm on Tuesday, but it didn't leave until 2.51pm.
According to Flight Aware, it landed back where it started at 4.02pm.
Were you on the flight? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz
Air Canada said the flight returned to Auckland soon after takeoff "on account of an unusual odour in the flight deck detected by the pilots".
"The aircraft landed normally and has been taken offline for an inspection by maintenance and technical professionals."
A spokesperson said the airline was making arrangements for passengers to be rebooked to their final destination.
"The aircraft was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 269 passengers and 14 crew."
An Auckland Airport spokesperson said the airport's emergency services were on standby for the flight one its return,
"The aircraft landed safely, and emergency services stood down shortly afterwards."
According to FlightRadar24, the average flight time to Vancouver from Auckland is 13 hours.
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