Jetstar flight from Auckland to Queenstown experiences severe turbulence, sending passengers flying and leaving them covered in vomit
A chaotic Jetstar flight was disrupted amid “wild” turbulence that left passengers screaming and vomiting as they flew into the cabin.
Any sense of calm aboard the 8.30am Jetstar Auckland-Queenstown flight disappeared as it began its descent to the airport on the famous ski resort’s mountainside on Sunday.
One teenage passenger said the turbulence made him feel like he was on a “roller coaster.”
At one point, the young people thought the plane might crash.
A Jetstar flight to Queenstown was grounded amid “wild” turbulence that led to passengers screaming and vomiting in their seats. Pictured: A Jetstar flight takes off from Queenstown
The flight returned to Auckland due to high winds in Queenstown.
“All hell broke loose… Everyone was screaming and vomiting on the flight,” Dylan Steele, 18, told the Herald of New Zealand.
“I was up in the air in my seat, it was so wild.
“All I could hear was the sound of people being sick and that was through headphones.”
Mr Steele said he saw the wing “flapping like a feather” and thought it might not survive the flight.
A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the flight did turn around, but not because of turbulence.
The operation was halted due to strong winds at the Queensland airport.
Flights are often delayed when taking off or landing at 65 km/h, but airliners have been known to land in winds of over 90 km/h.
Winds gusted up to 150 km/h in parts of the South Island on Sunday.
“The aircraft are designed to withstand much more severe turbulence than ever encountered and the pilots and crew are well trained and trained to handle turbulence,” Jetstar said in the statement.
“We sincerely apologize to customers for the disruption to their travel plans due to the strong winds affecting Queenstown.
“Our teams are working to get customers to their destinations as quickly as possible, but safety is our first priority.”
Far more dangerous than turbulence is the risk of passengers not wearing seat belts hitting their heads on the cabin ceiling or being struck by unsecured objects.
Passengers on board were vomiting due to extreme turbulence (stock image)
