Emirates flight to Auckland takes off from Dubai, takes U-turn and lands back at same airport after 13 hours

Have you thought of paying a hefty amount to board a flight and landing at the same destination after flying for 13 hours?

The passengers of Emirates flight EK448 faced an unsual situation, where the New Zealand bound flight took off from Dubai and landed back to Dubai after flying for over 13 hours.

The Emirates-bound flight EK448 to New Zealand took off from Dubai around 10:30 am local time on Friday morning, according to a report in Fox News.

However, after flying for over 13 hours, the pilot made a U-turn just over halfway through the almost 9,000-mile trip, as per FlightAware. The plane eventually landed back in Dubai at around midnight on Saturday.

This unusual situation occurred due to the heavy flooding in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. The Auckland Airport was temporarily closed due to damage from heavy flooding, but has since reopened.

A state of emergency was declared in the New Zealand city of Auckland after witnessing record-breaking torrential rainfall that resulted in several deaths since Friday.

At least four people died in the severe flooding. Videos on social media show residents stuck in waist-deep water with rescue operations being conducted on kayaks.

More than a foot of rain poured down across the city, prompting the closure of some major highways, multiple water rescues

Published on: Monday, January 30, 2023, 06:05 PM IST