Photo: Getty Images
After spending 16 hours in the air, passengers traveling from New Zealand to New York City found themselves back in Auckland. The flight, one of the world's longest direct flights, was about eight hours into its journey and roughly 2,000 miles away from California when it was forced to turn around due to an electrical fire at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The fire knocked out power to Terminal 1, forcing it to close. The terminal, which services international flights for 80 airlines, remained closed for repairs on Friday (February 17).
"JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues working with the terminal's operator to restore flight operations as quickly as possible," the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told The Post in a statement.
A spokesperson for New Zealand Air said that continuing to the United States and landing at a different airport would have created more problems for the airline.
"Diverting to another U.S. port would have meant the aircraft would remain on the ground for several days, impacting a number of other scheduled services and customers," the spokesperson said.
Once the flight returned to New Zealand, the passengers were rebooked on the next available flight to New York City.