Flight leaves Auckland in 2018, lands in 2017

  • 01/01/2018
A Hawaii-bound flight took off from Auckland in 2018, but touched down in Honolulu in 2017.
A Hawaii-bound flight took off from Auckland in 2018, but touched down in Honolulu in 2017. Photo credit: Getty

A flight that took off in Auckland on January 1, 2018 has landed back in 2017.

Hawaiian Airlines flight HAL446 was due to depart Auckland Airport at 11:55pm on December 31, 2017. 

However a 10-minute delay meant the plane didn't get off the ground until the following year - at 12:05am, January 1, 2018.

The flight was destined for Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, which is 23 hours behind New Zealand. Its estimated time of arrival was 10:16am on December 31, 2017 -meaning the eight-hour flight essentially took its passengers back in time.

Sam Sweeney, an ABC7 reporter, tweeted about the time-travelling flight, prompting a plethora of 'Back to the Future' memes and references.

Newshub.