Air New Zealand flight to Hong Kong makes emergency landing in Brisbane

The plane was almost fours into its journey when it diverted course.

Sarah Keszler
7NEWS
An Air New Zealand flight to Hong Kong has made an unscheduled landing in Brisbane.
An Air New Zealand flight to Hong Kong has made an unscheduled landing in Brisbane. Credit: Flightradar

An international flight has been forced to make an emergency landing in Queensland.

Air New Zealand flight ANZ81 from Auckland to Hong Kong diverted its course almost four hours into its flight, turning sharply near Rockhampton and entering a new course for Brisbane Airport.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight left Auckland about 10.30am local time and was scheduled to land in Hong Kong about 3pm local time.

Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.

Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.

Email Us
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.

The flight was expected to dump fuel before its emergency landing to reduce the aircraft’s weight to below its maximum landing weight. This helps to avoid damage to the aircraft during landing.

Brisbane Airport has confirmed a medical emergency was the reason for the sudden landing, with the flight arriving in Brisbane just before 1pm.

Air New Zealand confirmed the flight departed Brisbane a short time later and is back en route to Hong Kong.

The Air New Zealand flight turned around near Rockhampton and made its way to Brisbane.
The Air New Zealand flight turned around near Rockhampton and made its way to Brisbane. Credit: Flightradar

Comments

Latest Edition

The Nightly cover for 22-05-2026

Latest Edition

Edition Edition 22 May 202622 May 2026

How Ben Roberts-Smith and Andrew Hastie’s private conflict exploded into public war.