Peters asks Russia for answers after missile warning foils Antarctic flight

Author: Herald Reporters,
Publish Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2026, 8:46pm

A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster shown departing Christchurch Airport for McMurdo Station in Antarctica on Tuesday. It returned almost two-and-a-half hours later after an aviation warning was issued. Photo / Graham Sutherland.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has asked Russia for more information after a warning about a planned missile launch scotched a US Air Force (USAF) flight from New Zealand to Antarctica.

The USAF C-17 Globemaster aircraft with the call sign ICE28 left Christchurch Airport for McMurdo Station about 9am yesterday but turned back over the Southern Ocean.

It landed in Christchurch almost two-and-a-half hours later, with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokeswoman confirming the authority issued an official aviation notice warning of potentially hazardous space activity after it was contacted by the Russian Air Traffic Management Corporation.

Today, a CAA spokesperson said the authority had been made aware of a planned missile launch and associated potential hazard to international airspace within New Zealand’s Oceanic Flight Information Region, with the official aviation notice allowing flight operators to “make their decisions based on the information available”.

Peters had been briefed and “New Zealand is following the issue closely”, a spokesperson for the minister said tonight.

“New Zealand is aware of the Russian notice to aircrew and mariners of a planned missile launch and associated potential hazard to international airspace southeast of New Zealand.

The US Air Force C-17 Globemaster pictured soon after take-off from Christchurch Airport on Tuesday. Photo / Graham Sutherland

“However, details of the Russian notice are currently unclear and we are seeking further information.”

Yesterday’s turnaround came as the annual WINFLY, or Winter Flight Period, gets underway between Christchurch and Antarctica.

Turnarounds on the long flight to Antarctica are not particularly rare and are known as “boomerangs”.

In 2023, Antarctica New Zealand said a 43-person Scott Base crew twice “boomeranged” back to Christchurch before successfully reaching Antarctica on its third attempt.

It described such turnarounds as a “rite of passage” for Antarctic crews.