United Airlines just resumed the only non-stop route between the US and Christchurch, New Zealand, and it runs to SFO, but a Monday flight from Christchurch to SFO was diverted to Hawaii because it needed a crew change.  

Last Friday, United Airlines resumed its only direct flight route between the US and the southern island of New Zealand, whose bookend destinations happen to be SF International Airport and Christchurch. “It’s a stepping stone into the US and beyond, supports our exporters, and reinforces our role as a hub for Antarctic operations,” Christchurch Airport manager Justin Watson said in a press release. “We are delighted to see this partnership thrive.”

But the partnership hit a bump just four days into the new route. The Chronicle reports that a Monday night flight from New Zealand to SFO was diverted because it needed a crew change, and the passengers had an unexpected stayover at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. United did not comment on why a crew change was necessary, but in general, there are legal limits on how long a flight crew can work in a 24-hour period, which may have necessitated the crew change.

The flight was Flight UA731, and the craft was a Boeing, and it did depart Christchurch International Airport Monday night at 7:16 pm as expected. The flight was supposed to take 13 hours and ten minutes. But the flight only made it halfway, before being diverted to Hawaii, landing there at 5:11 am Tuesday morning.

United Airlines confirmed the crew change, and that passengers were rebooked onto another SFO flight out of Honolulu. The 203 customers and 13 crew members left Honolulu on another United flight at 1:45 pm Tuesday afternoon.

That flight did indeed eventually arrive at SFO Tuesday night at 9:07 pm.

Related: Toilet Overflows Into Cabin In Latest United Airlines Disaster on SFO-Bound Boeing Jet [SFist]

Image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 02: A United Airlines plane takes off as another taxis at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) following the Thanksgiving holiday on December 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Thanksgiving Sunday was the busiest day for commercial airline travel ever, with preliminary numbers indicating more than 3 million travelers were screened in U.S. airports yesterday with many people still making their way home today. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)