Air New Zealand flight diverts to Iceland due to medical emergency

AUCKLAND: An Air New Zealand flight from Los Angeles to London had to divert to Iceland because of a medical emergency.

NZ2 was on the way to Heathrow on Wednesday when it had to make the unscheduled stop.

The aircraft, a Boeing 777300, was just off the tip of Greenland when it changed course to Keflavik Airport near Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.

Air New Zealand said the plane diverted when a passenger became unwell.

‘‘The customer was disembarked to receive medical care and the flight was refuelled and then continued on to London around 1 hour 30 minutes late,’’ a spokeswoman said.

Data on FlightAware shows the plane landed eight hours into a flight which is usually completed in around 10 hours.

Keflavik International Airport was built by the US military during World War 2.

It has played a big role in the development of commercial flights in Iceland and been an important stopover between Europe and the US, but is increasingly a destination airport for the growing number of airlines serving the country as tourism booms.

Diversions are costly for airlines.

Last year Emirates said a single flight diversion could cost it from $US50,000 ($NZ75,000) to more than $US600,000, depending on its nature.

That includes fuel, flight catering, landing and ground handling fees, air navigation cost, passenger rebooking costs and onward connection, as well as other associated costs to care for crew and passengers. — NZME