Passengers from a Virgin Australia flight to Brisbane are stuck in Christchurch overnight after an “engineering issue” forced the aircraft to be diverted on Monday night.
Flight VA116 from Queenstown to Brisbane circled at least three times over Fiordland before landing in the Garden City around 7pm on Monday, according to Flightradar24.
The diversion was due to an “engineering issue and landed safely”, a spokesperson for the Queensland-based airline confirmed to 1News.
The spokesperson said, as the airline did not typically operate in Christchurch, the earliest recovery flights would be on Wednesday.
“Guests will be provided hotel accommodation tonight.
“We are working to safely get everyone to Brisbane as soon as possible, and our guest relations team is in direct contact with impacted guests today to keep them updated.
“Virgin Australia will cover hotel accommodation, meals, and transfers for impacted guests in line with our guest compensation policy.
“We sincerely apologise for the disruption to our guests’ travel plans.”
