Qantas flight from Singapore to Sydney delayed for days due to mechanical issues

SINGAPORE - Passengers on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Sydney have had to put up with several days of delay in the Republic after it was repeatedly pushed back due to mechanical issues.

Australian news outlet The Brisbane Times reported that passengers on Flight QF82, which was to depart on July 14 at 8.45pm, were instructed to get off the plane at about midnight. They were then told at about 2.30am the next day that the plane, an Airbus A380, would not take off, and that they would be taken to hotels.

The Brisbane Times reported that passengers were given a note that read: “While our engineers are highly trained to resolve such situations, the problem requires extended maintenance and unfortunately, the aircraft will not be able to operate at the revised departure time of 9am on 16 July.

“While our engineers continue to work on the original aircraft in Singapore, your flight will now be operated by a replacement aircraft.”

Affected passengers were also offered accommodation and reimbursement for “reasonable out-of-pocket expenses” such as meals.

The double-decker aircraft is capable of carrying more than 800 passengers in an all-economy class configuration, according to its manufacturer. It can carry over 500 passengers in a three-class configuration.

Mr Giuliano Fabrizio Tye, 35, was scheduled to fly back to Australia on Flight QF82 with his wife, two young children and his parents after a holiday in Singapore. He told ST that they boarded the aircraft only to end up sitting for three hours before being told to disembark.

“We then sat in the airport waiting for updates until 2am, when we were finally told the flight would not go ahead,” said Mr Tye.

He received a note saying the flight would not go ahead as scheduled, and that an aircraft swop would take place.

Mr Tye, a business owner from Sydney, added that they received “various pieces of information” from airport staff, and then boarded a bus that took them to hotels.

“I’ve travelled a lot in my life,” he said. “And I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

Qantas, in response to queries from The Straits Times on July 16, said the customers are expected to depart Singapore on the evening of July 16, and arrive in Sydney the next morning.

“We have ferried an A330 aircraft from Australia to Singapore today to help get these customers on their way as quickly as possible,” an airline spokesperson said. “In addition, tonight’s scheduled A380 services will help clear the delayed customers.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers for the significant delay in departing Singapore.”

According to the Changi Airport website, Sydney-bound Flight QF82 was scheduled to depart from Terminal 1 at 8.45pm on July 16. However, when ST checked the flight information at about 8.30pm, the web page showed that the flight had been cancelled.

Another flight, QF2, was originally scheduled for 7.30pm on the July 16. It has been pushed back to 11.20am on July 17.