16-Hour Flight To Nowhere Caused By JFK Airport's Terminal Power Failure

Passengers on a trans-Pacific flight from New Zealand to New York were surprised to learn about halfway through the flight that a technical issue at one of John F. Kennedy International Airport’s terminals would prevent them from landing. What’s worse is that the Boeing 787 jet made a U-turn in the middle of the Pacific and returned to Auckland.

Air New Zealand Ltd. Flight NZ2 was scheduled to land at JFK Airport’s Terminal 1 at 1740 ET Thursday, but electrical issues and resulting power failure of the terminal prevented the plane from landing.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed Flight NZ2 turned around at the halfway point of its 9,000-mile journey near Hawaii. The disruption created a major headache for passengers as it was a 16-hour trip to nowhere.

Here it comes. The 16 hour flight from 🛫 Auckland, to… 🛬 Auckland 😨😨

The flight made a U-turn because of the closure of Terminal 1 at JFK.https://t.co/ZpFoXsvmtU #NZ2 pic.twitter.com/w0BJh7G7f6

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 16, 2023

Flight NZ2 wasn’t the only one.

A Korean Air Lines Co. flight bound for New York from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, KE85, was just off the coast of Alaska before having to turn back due to the JFK outage. –Bloomberg

A spokesperson for Air New Zealand said:

“The airline recognized that a diversion was inevitable about 5 hours and 30 minutes into the 14-hour flight.

“All options have been considered, and a decision was made to return to Incheon in light of multiple factors such as distance traveled and operational circumstances.”

There were 129 flights delayed and 25 canceled yesterday because of the power failure at the terminal sparked by an electrical panel failure and a small fire.

The disruptions aren’t over. JFK Airport tweeted the terminal will remain closed on Friday.

JFK Terminal 1 will remain closed on 2/17 due to electrical issues as the Port Authority continues working with the terminal’s operator to restore flight operations as quickly as possible. Travelers should check with their carriers for flight status before coming to the airport.

— John F. Kennedy Airport (@JFKairport) February 17, 2023