An Air New Zealand flight from Melbourne to Queenstown has been re-directed to Christchurch this afternoon following a technical issue with its wings.

The aircraft circled twice over the Canterbury plains, inland from Ashburton, according to Flightradar24, before flying out to Pegasus Bay and circling once and then landing safely.

Air New Zealand Operational Integrity and Safety Officer, Captain David Morgan told Chris Lynch Media “Air New Zealand flight NZ264 from Melbourne to Queenstown diverted to Christchurch this afternoon due to the slats on the wings required for landing on a shorter runway like Queenstown not deploying.”

Slats are extendable, high-lift devices on the edge of the wings. Their purpose is to increase lift during low-speed operations such as takeoff, initial climb, approach, and landing.

Captain David Morgan said “this issue then rectified itself while en route to Christchurch and the aircraft landed as normal and passengers disembarked safely.”

Captain Morgan said “the aircraft will be taken into maintenance and inspected by our engineering team before it returns to service. 

 “A diversion for this type of engineering event is part of our standard operating procedures.

It is safe for aircraft to land without the deployment of the slats on a longer runway like Christchurch.”

Customers on impacted services will be re-accommodated on the next available service to get them to their final destinations. We thank them for their patience” Captain Morgan said.

Airport Fire and Emergency crews were deployed, but were stood down when the issue resolved itself.