Flight EK448 left for Dubai on Friday at 10:30 am local time for Auckland in New Zealand. But almost halfway through the 9,000-mile ride, the pilot decided to turn back over the ocean. The plane had already been in the air for seven hours, but was not allowed to land in Auckland because of the very bad weather there. A good six hours later, the Airbus A380 landed again in… Dubai, the airport where the aircraft had departed.
Auckland airport experienced severe flooding on Friday and Saturday. “Auckland Airport has investigated the damage to our international terminal and has unfortunately determined that no international flights can operate today,” the airport said in a statement Saturday afternoon local time. “We know this is very frustrating, but passenger safety is our top priority.”
Domestic flights at Auckland airport will resume on Saturday evening local time and international flights on Sunday morning. Flight 448 was moved to Dubai local time on Saturday and landed in Auckland local time on Sunday afternoon.