A Fiji Airways flight that sparked an emergency callout has landed after circling in the air for two hours above Canterbury.
The airline confirmed the Nadi-bound plane hit a bird during take-off around 2pm and had to return to Christchurch Airport.
RNZ understands the Boeing 737-800 had more than 170 passengers on board and was forced to enter a holding pattern to burn fuel before attempting to land.
In a statement, Fiji Airways said all guests and crew on board flight FJ450 were safe and their flight and engineering teams were closely monitoring the situation as the plane prepared to land.
Fiji Airways flight lands in Christchurch after ‘substantial’ bird strike, watch on TVNZ+
“Safety remains our highest priority.”
The plane landed shortly before 4.45pm.
rnz.co.nz
