Flight is forced to turn back after concerning discovery on board

• Flight to Shanghai turned back to NZ 
• Precaution after engine used too much fuel 
• READ MORE: Qantas passenger says she was 'humiliated' in airline lounge 

Air New Zealand passengers had to endure a nine-hour flight that took them back to where they started after their plane was forced to turn back.

Flight NZ289 left Auckland, in New Zealand, on Monday night and was bound for Shanghai, in China, but did a U-turn near the Solomon Islands just four-and-half hours into the 12-hour flight.

Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex Marren told 7News the aborted flight was a 'proactive safety measure' carried out because one of the plane's engines was using more fuel than normal.

'The decision was made to return to Auckland so the aircraft could be checked by our engineering team here to expedite repair,' Mr Marren said.

'The aircraft arrived in Auckland at 8:36am this (Tuesday) morning and customers will be accommodated on the next available service.

'We'd like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while our teams work through the rebooking process.'

It's understood the plane will have a complete service, which the airline does not have the facilities for in Shanghai.

Last month two people were injured on an Air New Zealand plane when it hit severe turbulence on flight Wellington to Queenstown by severe turbulence.

An Air New Zealand passenger plane was forced to turn back four-and-a-half hours into its intended flight to Shanghai (generic image pictured)

Because of unusually high fuel use in one engine the plane had to make a U-turn over the Pacific

A passenger reportedly suffered burns from a pot of hot coffee while a crew member was thrown from her feet about 15 minutes after take-off on June 16.

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