16 Jul 2017

Auckland flight delayed after white powder found

5:10 pm on 16 July 2017

A white powder found on an Air New Zealand plane at Auckland Airport has been identified as non-hazardous.

Auckland Airport

The incident happened at Auckland International Airport. Photo: 123RF

The Auckland to Melbourne flight was delayed after a small amount of powder was found in the plane's cargo hold shortly after 3pm.

Fire and Emergency said three appliances were dealing with the spillage, but there were no reports of injuries.

But an Air New Zealand spokesperson said the Auckland to Melbourne flight had been delayed due to an engineering issue, with crews working to fix it as soon as possible.

They said the powder was a separate issue and had since been cleared up.