An Air New Zealand flight to New York didn’t make it to its destination following a “medical emergency” which led to the plane being diverted to Honolulu.

The airline sent an apology email to travellers after the flight was sent to Hawaii.

“Whilst operating the inbound flight, the aircraft assigned for your flight was required to divert to Honolulu due to a medical emergency that took place earlier.

“Despite our best efforts to depart today, we are unable to do so within the necessary time frame without exceeding the maximum crew duty hours.”

A return flight for travellers scheduled to fly from New York to Auckland on Friday has been cancelled.

In a statement this afternoon, Air New Zealand chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw confirmed flight NZ2 diverted to Honolulu on Friday morning due to a medical emergency onboard.

“As a result, NZ1 from New York to Auckland was cancelled due to the aircraft being out of position.

“Customers on both services were assisted with accommodation where required and rebooked to travel on the next available service.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers.”