Travellers flying with Emirates to Auckland on Friday had a long trip to nowhere when the aircraft they were travelling on turned back to Dubai after seven hours in the air.
Flight number EK448 from Dubai to Auckland departed the UAE at around 10.30am on Friday, setting off on the airline's longest commercial route — a 14,200km journey to New Zealand’s largest city.
With a total flying time of more than 16 hours, passengers were nearly halfway through the journey, flying near Malaysia, when the jet U-turned, according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
The aircraft was unable to continue to its destination as Auckland Airport announced it was closing because of major flooding.
Passengers landed back in Dubai again after more than 13 hours in the air, according to data aviation analytics company Cirium.
The rescheduled flight departed Dubai for the second time on Sunday, operating as flight number EK8448. It departed Dubai just after 11am and is expected to arrive in New Zealand at 11.20am on Monday.
Other Emirates flights have been affected by New Zealand's severe weather. Emirates flight EK448 was delayed for more than five hours on Saturday.
Flight EK448, which was due to depart Dubai for Auckland on Sunday, was cancelled and passengers set to connect on the service from other destinations were not accepted for travel at their original points of departure.
Emirates has advised customers affected due to cancellations to contact their travel agents or Emirates call centres for rebooking options. The airline said flights from Auckland to Dubai on Sunday and Monday were unaffected and “planned to operate according to schedule”.
Some Emirates passengers have taken to social media to express concern over the airline's rebooking process.
More than one Twitter user tweeted that the earliest flights being offered for rebooking are not until February 7, more than a week from Sunday.
More than 1,000 travellers stranded at Auckland Airport
Thousands of travellers were stranded at Auckland Airport on Saturday night after severe weather and flooding.
More than 1,000 passengers are waiting inside the international terminal of the airport and authorities and volunteers handed out more than 1,000 meals, 500 blankets and hundreds of bottles of water and fruit to travellers overnight.
Travellers were advised that international flight schedules will take some time to normalise and asked passengers to be patient.
“For people travelling internationally, we want to let them know that some airport processes may take longer than normal as we restart international travel, so we just ask for travellers’ patience and understanding as we gradually get back up to speed.
“With the disruption to flight schedules, it may also take airlines several days to rebook passengers. Anyone travelling in the next few days who has questions about the impact to their travel plans should talk to their airline or travel agent. Rest assured, we’re all working together as an airport community to get everyone where they need to be over the coming days.”
On Sunday morning, a Jetstar flight to Sydney was the first international passenger flight to depart Auckland Airport since its temporary closure.
An Air New Zealand flight from Los Angeles with 355 passengers on board was the first to arrive since the airport reopened, landing in Auckland just after 7am on Sunday.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
The specs
Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Teaching in coronavirus times
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
