Taumarunui earthquake temporarily impacts flights into Wellington

Two flights appeared to abort from landing. Photo / Twitter

The earthquake which struck near Taumarunui earlier this afternoon delayed flights from landing in the capital and could see delays elsewhere.

The 6.2 magnitude quake struck 25km southwest of Taumarunui around 3.13pm at a depth of 207km, according to GeoNet.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman told the Herald a small number of flights were partially delayed from landing in Wellington as a result.

"A small number of flights were required to circle while the Wellington Airport runway was checked following the earthquake," she said.

"This delayed their arrival into Wellington and there may be some minor delays across our domestic network this afternoon as a consequence."

A social media user said it appeared two planes had aborted landing in Wellington following the quake, one from Auckland and another from Christchurch.

He tweeted the planes began looping around each other over Cook Strait while they waited to land.

Meanwhile, a Wellington resident nearby said she saw one plane appear to abort landing and shoot straight over the airport before landing some time later.

She said the shaking lasted a minute before temporarily stopping and starting again.