One of New York’s Longest Flight Routes Has a Major Wind Problem

One of the world’s longest flights is being disrupted by strong winds, forcing operator Air New Zealand to reduce passengers and luggage so it can take on more fuel.

Two years of planning went into the new non-stop service from New York to Auckland which, at 17 hours and 35 minutes, is the world’s fourth-longest. But within a week of opening the route this month, the airline found its modeling hadn’t accounted for unusually strong headwinds, Chief Operating Integrity and Safety Officer David Morgan said Tuesday in Wellington.