Air New Zealand passengers stuck in New York after Boeing 787-9 struck by lightning

For the second time in hours, an Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 aircraft was struck by lightning. While this happens more frequently than you think, the current can usually exit the aircraft without damage, and a Faraday cage protects passengers onboard.

Obviously unrelated, Air New Zealand had planned to operate its Boeing 787-9 between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Auckland International Airport (AKL) on January 9.

The flight was expected to depart from the Big Apple at 19:20 on Monday; however, due to a lightning strike, the flight was canceled, and passengers have been either rerouted via San Francisco or expected to wait for a new departure this evening.

For those concerned about the aircraft and any passengers or crew onboard, the skin of an aircraft is a conductor, allowing current to exit through the tail, usually without damage to the aircraft or its electronics.

A built-in 'Faraday cage' also shields passengers from electricity and blocks electromagnetic fields.

According to data from Flightradar24, the flight from New York was canceled on Monday following the strike, displacing passengers that evening.

The airline reaccommodated affected passengers into hotels, and many were rebooked onto alternative services, with some on American Airlines and United Airlines .

The affected aircraft, ZK-NZL, remained on the apron at JFK overnight while the maintenance crew completed necessary plane checks before returning to Auckland as NZ6001 on December 10.

The flight departed at 20:30 and arrived in Auckland two days later at 08:05.Flight data shows that the aircraft has remained in active service since, completing rotations to Melbourne and Honolulu in the days following its arrival back to Auckland.

New Zealand news outlet Stuff spoke with Air New Zealand concerning the incident, and the airline Cheif Operating Officer, Alex Marren, shared this statement concerning the airline's flight cancellation:

My also contacted Air New Zealand; however, they had not responded by the time this article was published. We will update you with any response we receive.

Following stormy conditions in the skies around Auckland led to another Air New Zealand 787 encountering a lightning strike shortly after take-off.

NZ902 had departed from Auckland International Airport on Monday, December 9th, destined for French Polynesia. The flight, operated by one of the airlines, Boeing 777-300ER , held registration ZK-OKV.

Data from Flightradar24 identified the flight was expected to depart from Auckland at 19:30, was delayed on departure, and left the gate at 20:38.

Twenty minutes into the journey, the aircraft was struck by lightning, leading the pilots to decide to return to Auckland out of an abundance of caution.

Air New Zealand has stressed that lightning strikes to aircraft are quite common, and its pilots and crew are fully trained to handle these situations.

Once the Papeete-bound passengers were back in Auckland, they were accommodated onto a replacement flight onboard the same aircraft.

The flight departed Auckland as NZ6072 at 23:02 and arrived in Papeete at 04:41.

Inbound passengers from Tahiti back to Auckland were also affected. They were provided hotel accommodation and were rebooked for the replacement service the following day.

Mywill update this article when we hear back from Air New Zealand.