Jetstar passenger says failed Wellington flight was ‘like a rollercoaster’

The Jetstar flight had to return to Auckland. Photo / 123rf

High winds forced a flight to return to Auckland yesterday after two failed attempts at landing in Wellington.

The Jetstar flight circled the capital multiple times on Tuesday as wind gusts reached up to 80km/h.

Whangarei woman Keri Squires was on the failed flight and told the Herald it was “a bit rough” but mostly okay, until it went to land.

“As we came down out of the blue we just shot up – it felt like a rollercoaster!”

According to Squired, everyone on the flight gasped in shock as the plane rocketed skywards.

A second landing attempt was made, but it became clear it “wasn’t going to work.

“We circled a bit, the same thing happened so we had to just go back to Auckland.”

Squires commended Jetstar on its management of the situation, saying she felt the staff communicated what was happening well.

Once back in Auckland, she was put in a motel room and given a free meal. She was also booked on to a new flight which departed Auckland at 6am today and arrived safely in Wellington – despite some turbulence along the way.

A spokesperson for Jetstar confirmed they were aware the flight had failed to land yesterday.

Another spokesperson for Wellington Airport confirmed the flight had been hampered by high winds.

“The Jetstar flight made two unsuccessful attempts to land at Wellington Airport before deciding to return to Auckland due to the wind,” they said.

“This was the only cancelled flight yesterday, although one flight was unable to land at New Plymouth and had to return to Wellington.”

Vita Molyneux is a Wellington-based journalist who covers breaking news and stories from the capital. She has been a journalist since 2018 and joined the Herald in 2021.