Eight minutes after take off, the pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH132 found that the Airbus A330 was following a path that was further south than expected.
An investigation is being conducted after reports of a Malaysia Airlines flight from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur flying in the "wrong direction" on Christmas Day emerged.
Eight minutes after take off, the pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH132 found that the Airbus A330 was following a path that was further south than expected and asked air traffic controllers in Auckland why a more direct route to Kuala Lumpur was not being taken.
Passengers were unaware of the developments as the pilot decided to continue across the Tasman Sea before heading northwest to Kuala Lumpur, according to a report in the New Zealand Herald.
Malaysia Airlines later issued a statement saying that the safety of the crew and passengers had not been compromised at any stage and that the mix-up had occurred as Auckland's Air Traffic Control was inadvertently given an earlier flight plan.
"A flight plan for every flight is generated based on conditions at the time covering issues such as weather, any air traffic notices, route efficiency etc. On December 24th 2015 our flight MH132 from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur was given the latest flight plan by the airline's Operations Dispatch Centre (ODC) whilst Auckland's Air Traffic Control (ATC) was inadvertently given an earlier flight plan. Both routes were following an approved flight path and the aircraft had enough fuel for both routes. The safety of both passengers and crew were never compromised at any time. Malaysia Airlines is currently conducting its investigation in the flight plan submission. Safety is of the utmost priority for Malaysia Airlines and it adheres very strictly to all safety procedures and processes," the statement read.
Malaysia Airlines has been plagued with tragedies in the recent past, with Flight MH370 having 239 people on board disappearing in March 2014 and its flight MH17 with 298 on board being shot down near Ukraine.
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