A US Air Force flight to Antarctica was forced to turn back to Christchurch Airport after being warned of a “potentially hazardous” planned Russian missile launch.

The C-17 Globemaster took off from Christchurch Airport about 9am on Tuesday headed for McMurdo Station, using the call sign ICE28.

But flight-tracking website, Flightradar24, shows the aircraft landed back at the airport at 11.29am.

The U-turn over the Southern Ocean followed a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) from the Civil Aviation Authority, which is used to alert aircraft operators to hazards and allow them to make operational decisions at the time.

The notice was for “space activity, potentially hazardous to aviation en route to Antarctica”.

A CAA spokesperson told Stuff on Wednesday the Russian Air Traffic Management Centre had made it aware of a “planned missile launch” in the area managed by New Zealand authorities.

The CAA then issued the notice “to alert aircraft operators to the potential hazard”.

“This does not prevent aircraft from flying through the area, operators make their decisions based on the information available,” the spokesperson told Stuff.

They said the CAA has little control over activities above international waters.

-Allied Media