In one of the oddest travel mishaps this year, an Air New Zealand flight was unexpectedly diverted after crew and passengers detected a “strange odor” spreading inside the cabin. The flight, traveling from Blenheim to Auckland in April 2025, landed safely at New Plymouth Airport when the situation escalated. Emergency services greeted the plane, and all passengers were questioned as authorities tried to find the source of the alarming smell.

After an investigation, the culprit was discovered: an item stashed in a passenger’s carry-on bag was producing the mysterious odor! While Air New Zealand officials did not disclose the exact nature of the item, the incident caused significant disruption—delaying connecting flights and prompting confusion among travelers. Some passengers missed onward journeys, including a much-anticipated vacation to Hawaii, due to the unplanned stop.

Odor-related diversions like this have become an unusual but documented aviation headache in recent years, triggering full safety protocols and inconveniencing hundreds, all thanks to the power of a single, weird smell.