Passengers are returned to Nelson after troubled flight

Nine flights in and out of Palmerston North were cancelled on Sunday.

Passengers from a Nelson-bound flight forced to make an emergency landing at Palmerston North Airport have flown back to the South Island city.

The Air New Zealand aircraft was forced to land at Palmerston North Airport on Sunday evening after an issue with the plane’s nose gear.

There were 64 passengers on board flight NZ5075, which was scheduled to fly from Auckland to Nelson.

Passenger Stella Brimble said, on Sunday evening, that the plane reached Nelson, but circled above the airport after staff realised there was a suspected issue with one of the plane’s landing wheels.

The flight was then diverted to Palmerston North Airport and landed without incident at 4.45pm, Air New Zealand stated.

The pilots followed standard operating procedures and requested emergency services be on standby for the landing, it said.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said two additional flights were organised to transport impacted customers from Palmerston North to Nelson on Monday.

The aircraft was removed from the runway at Palmerston North airport on Sunday night and the airport resumed normal operations on Monday morning, she said.

The aircraft had not returned to service on Monday, she said.

Nine flights in and out of Palmerston North were cancelled on Sunday.

As a flow-on effect, flight NZ5177 from Palmerston North to Christchurch, flight NZ5101 from Auckland to Palmerston North and its returning flight NZ5104, were cancelled on Monday.