‘Kick in the guts’: Passengers face 72-hour wait for bags after Air NZ flight gets stuck in mud

Sunday, 21 June 2026

Air New Zealand flight NZ582 from Christchurch to Auckland became stuck on grass after being pushed back from its stand at Christchurch Airport.

The Airbus A320 aircraft's main wheels sank into soft ground preventing the 5.45am departure from proceeding as scheduled.

All passengers safely disembarked the stuck aircraft and walked back to the terminal in the rain with assistance from airport staff.

Travellers on an early Sunday morning flight from Christchurch to Auckland have been told they could be waiting up to 72 hours to retrieve their bags after an Air NZ flight became stuck in the mud at Christchurch Airport.

The A320 plane was pushed on to soft ground before its scheduled takeoff time of 5.45am and became stuck, remaining fixed in place at 11am.

A passenger on NZ582, who asked to remain anonymous, told Stuff the captain originally said it would take three tugs to free them, before updating them just before 7am they were not going anywhere.

Passengers were later taken from the plane, which remains stuck on the grass with their bags still stowed inside.

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“Will take some serious grunt to pull us free, wheels have sunk,” the passenger said.

A spokesperson for Christchurch Airport confirmed the incident, saying the aircraft has been pushed back from its stand on to the grass and airport staff were dealing with the situation.

Air New Zealand Chief Safety and Risk Officer, Nathan McGraw, said all passengers disembarked safely after the incident and staff were working to get passengers on to a new flight.

“Flight NZ582 was preparing to depart this morning when, during pushback, the aircraft’s main wheels came into contact with the grass beside the taxiway,” he explained.

He said the plane is still stuck on the grass and thanked passengers for their 'patience and understanding,“ saying bags can’t be unloaded until they can get the plane back to the gate.

‘Kick in the guts’

Joshua Daglish said he was asked not to take photos as he trudged back to the terminal in the rain to try and rebook a flight to Samoa he had now missed.

He spoke to Stuff at 11am, still without his bags and now facing a five-hour stop in Fiji before reaching Apia at 1.10am, with no promise of seeing his bags for days.

He said Air NZ have told he and his partner face a 48 to 72-hour wait to see their checked luggage again.

“So probably like halfway through our holiday because we're there for six days,” he said.

He said the rebooking process was “very slow”.

“Originally they held us in a separate area at Gate 15, gave us some water and a few snacks and then we're just waiting for the update,” he said, telling Stuff they had also been given a $10 voucher for food, which he described as “a kick in the guts”.

He said they had not been offered any help when they reached their destination.

He said he did not know why it was taking so long to get the bags off but suspected staff were carefully balancing the plane, noting that the passengers were carefully taken off the plane from the back first when they disembarked.

Air NZ have been contacted for further comment.

Another passenger who didn’t want to be named said there was a loud bump that sent Air NZ crew staggering when the plane went on to the grass during the safety demonstration.

“It was quite a big bump,” she said.

She said stairs had been brought to the plane so that passengers could disembark for the rainy walk back to the terminal and there were around 50 staff members lining the path as they made their way inside.

She said the delays were annoying and have caused her to miss a flight to Rarotonga.

She has been told via the app that she won’t leave Christchurch until 6pm and will have to wait until Monday for her flight to the Cook Islands.

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