Passengers on a Qantas flight heading to Bangkok had a worrying time for over 30 minutes as the aircraft they were in developed a technical fault soon after taking off from Sydney.
Passengers on flight QF23 said they could smell gas on the plane as it circled over Sydney burning off fuel so it could perform an emergency landing at Sydney. Some passengers used social media to report the plane had a problem with its right engine, which seemed to be failing, while others reported being 'freaked out' by the events.
Emergency crews were on standby at Sydney when the plane landed and passengers were disembarked, which Qantas called 'a normal procedure' and engineers were inspecting the aircraft. The passengers were accommodated on another flight to Bangkok, some 10 hours later and offered a voucher for around AUD$30 compensation, or as one disgruntled passenger put it, AUD$1.80per hour he was delayed.
This latest incident comes just 10 days after another Qantas aircraft had to return to Auckland airport, New Zealand after the cabin filled with smoke. On 24th May, Qantas flight QF144 had been climbing out of Auckland when reports of smoke caused the crew to make a sudden return to Auckland. The flight was greeted by around 10 emergency response vehicles and the Australian airline later said a fault oven had caused the smoke.
