Air New Zealand flight NZ175 from Auckland to Perth returned to Auckland this afternoon after the pilot of the Boeing 767-300ER aircraft reported a problem with the left hand engine shortly after take off. It returned to Auckland immediately, landed without further incident and taxied to the gate.

The 206 passengers on board will return to the terminal and be looked after by Air New Zealand staff while a replacement aircraft is readied.

The nature of the issue is not yet known. Engineers will begin an immediate inspection of the engine.