File photo. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
An Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Chicago was forced to turn back on Friday night due to a fuel issue.
Flight NZ26 left Auckland at 9pm, but just over an hour after departure, what the airline described as a "fuel usage discrepancy" was discovered.
Air New Zealand head of flight operations Hugh Pearce said the aircraft turned back as a precaution so it could undergo an engineering inspection.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner arrived back in Auckland at 12.37pm, after a total flight time of three hours and forty minutes.
Pearce said the Air New Zealand team assisted with accommodation, if customers required it, and were working to rebook customers on the next available service.
"Unfortunately, availability is limited so this could be over the next two to three days," he said
"Our teams are doing their best to get customers to their destination as soon as possible and we thank customers for their patience and understanding."