Police and emergency services are on high alert this afternoon as a Fiji Airways flight makes its return to Christchurch International Airport following a suspected in-flight incident, NewstalkZB reports.
A full emergency was declared for flight FJI450, which departed Christchurch at 2:24pm bound for Nadi but began circling over Canterbury, near Lake Ellesmere, shortly after take-off.
The aircraft is believed to have experienced a suspected bird strike.
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson confirmed that four appliances and a command unit have been deployed to the airport in anticipation of the flight’s return.
“We’re standing by and awaiting the aircraft’s arrival,” the spokesperson told NewsyalkZB.
Police were notified of “an incident at Christchurch Airport” around 2:30pm and are also on site providing support.
An airport spokesperson said the aircraft is “returning for an unknown reason, so it is circulating”, while aviation tracker Flightradar24 reported that it had become the most tracked flight in the world during the incident.
