Qantas A380 diverted due to engineering problems
Passengers on a Qantas A380 flight from Melbourne to Dubai spent eight hours in the air only to return to Sydney.
The airline blamed engineering problems for the decision to turn the plane around after crew reported a ‘slight vibration issue’.
Flight tracking websites showed the aircraft circling over new South Wales and waiting for some time for a holding slot at Sydney during the busy morning period.
Qantas has A380 maintenance facilities at Sydney Airport.
Flight QF9 landed at Sydney at around 6.50am local time on Tuesday, more than eight hours after it left Melbourne.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the 410 passengers were put on to a replacement flight, more than 10 hours after their initial flight left Melbourne.
The flight to Dubai should have taken 14 hours.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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