An Air New Zealand flight bound for Invercargill was forced to return to Christchurch after encountering severe icing.

Flight NZ5503, operated by an ATR 72 600, departed Christchurch Airport at 6.38pm on Saturday and flew south towards Timaru before turning back. It headed out to sea before landing at Christchurch Airport.

An Air New Zealand spokesperson told chrislynchmedia.com the aircraft encountered severe icing during the flight.

“There was severe icing encountered en route, so the aircraft returned to Christchurch. We’re working to reaccommodate passengers as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.