An Air New Zealand plane took off from Christchurch on Sunday evening, but had to turn back. Photo: File image / Getty
A flight tracking website showed the plane - bound for Hamilton - made it as far north as Blenheim before performing a u-turn.
It landed back at Christchurch Airport before 8pm.
The flight returned due to an "engineering" issue, an Air New Zealand spokesperson said.
Customers would be booked on the next available flight to Hamilton.
