A flight from Christchurch to Auckland was turned around shortly after take off when the aircraft's landing gear failed to retract.

The flight, Air New Zealand flight NZ538, was scheduled to leave at 11am on Saturday but returned to Christchurch Airport shortly after departure.

"While safety was not compromised at any stage, flying with the landing gear down increases drag so the decision was made to return to Christchurch," Air New Zealand communications manager Hannah Searle said.

The aircraft landed "without incident" and customers were moved to another aircraft, which was scheduled to depart Christchurch at 1.15pm.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the service leaving Christchurch Airport, then circling three times before landing.

"Engineers will inspect the aircraft this afternoon," Searle said.

Last month, a Vietnam Airlines flight was within one minute of landing at Melbourne Airport, in Australia, when air traffic controllers were shocked to discover the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's landing gear was still up.

The flight then circled the airport and landed safely.