Packed Air New Zealand plane forced to make a sharp U-turn after traveller suffered mid-air medical emergency

By CAITLIN POWELL - NEWS REPORTER Published: 06:06, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 06:25, 22 May 2026 An Air New Zealand plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Queensland after a passenger suffered a medical emergency on the long-haul flight.  Flight ANZ81 was travelling from Auckland to Hong Kong when it was suddenly diverted to Brisbane Airport on Friday morning, landing at about 12.46pm. The plane had got as far as Rockhampton before it made a dramatic U-turn back to the state capital four hours into the journey, according to flight data. It is understood the cause of the diversion was a medical event on board. The flight was due to discard fuel before making an emergency landing, according to 7News. The move is to lower the aircraft’s weight to below its maximum landing weight, which helps avoid damage during a landing.  'The flight departed Brisbane for Hong Kong a short time later,' Chief Safety and Risk Officer Nathan McGraw said in a statement. 'We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding while we worked to get them on their way as soon as possible.' An Air New Zealand plane was made an emergency landing at Brisbane Airport (stock image) The plane was flying near Rockhampton when it was forced to U-turn The diversion was caused by a medical event (Pictured, crowds at Brisbane Airport) No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.