Source: Poppy Clark | www.stuff.co.nz

An Air New Zealand plane reported smoke in the aircraft amid a u-turn on Wednesday evening.

Flight NZ5236 left from Wellington Airport at 2.55pm and was expected to land in Rotorua at 4pm but due to “adverse weather conditions” could not land.

Air New Zealand’s Head of Flight Operations Hugh Pearce said as the plane was en route back to Wellington Airport “the crew reported a warning light indicating possible smoke in the aircraft”.

“The aircraft landed safely just after 5pm in Wellington and, as is standard procedure, was met by emergency services.

“As the aircraft did not return to the terminal, passengers disembarked onto the taxiway and were transported to the terminal where they were met by our ground staff,” he said.

Emergency services could be seen on the tarmac.

A Wellington Airport spokesperson said the aircraft “reported smoke in the cockpit” before “landing safely” back in Wellington.

Pearce said the safety and wellbeing of everyone onboard “is our number one priority and our crew are fully trained to respond to these situations”

Air New Zealand are helping passengers by “offering support and are working through rebooking options”.