Qantas plane diverted from Heathrow to Azerbaijan due to possible fire in cargo hold
Qantas flight from Singapore to Heathrow diverted to BAKU in Azerbaijan before arriving on Christmas Day – 48 hours late
- The flight stopped in Baku because of a warning light indicating a possible fire
- Passengers have said a relief plane will get them home before Christmas morning
- This is because border staff and rail workers are on strike during Christmas week
Qantas passengers said they showed ‘a little bit of Dunkirk spirit’ when their plane from Singapore to Heathrow was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan – after being delayed for 48 hours.
The flight from Singapore to London Heathrow was scheduled to land shortly after 06:00 on 23 December, but stopped in Baku due to a warning light indicating a possible fire in the cargo hold.
Passengers said they spent hours waiting for visas at Baku airport and did not know when they would be able to return to London, as information about a relief plane was not immediately given.
It comes amid travel chaos for those already back home in the UK – as rail strikes have forced passengers to rush to catch trains before services grind to a halt.
Qantas passengers said they showed “a little bit of Dunkirk spirit” when their plane from Singapore to Heathrow was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan. In the photo: a fire truck near the plane
Passengers said they spent hours waiting for visas at Baku airport and did not know when they would be able to return to London. In the photo: Passengers disembark from the diverted aircraft
And at major airports, Border Force personnel are on strike as the armed forces have been deployed to check passports.
The replacement aircraft will now land on Christmas morning as passengers mourned the loss of Christmas Eve events at home with their families.
Clare Kennett of West Sussex described the frustration at the long wait she and other passengers endured, but said the captain had done the right thing by detouring to land elsewhere and having the plane checked out.
The 63-year-old IT consultant turned chili farmer praised the Qantas crew but said information from the company was lacking in the early stages of the slowdown.
She said passengers spent hours at Baku airport waiting for visas so they could go to a hotel, and also wondering how to wait for a relief plane to take them to London.
Ms Kennett, who had been on a three-week holiday to surprise her sister in Melbourne for her birthday, said they had “no explanation” of what was going on at the hotel, adding that “a lot of people were very upset’.
She said: “Qantas as a company has just sent short factual emails, which seems very cold at Christmas.
“We were all very frustrated with the 10 or 11 hours many people spent at the airport.
“The crew was great. They fed us, talked to us, played with the kids and just tried to make light of the situation. They were really good.
And even the captain was out with the flight crew to help with passports and visas. So it was really kind of the spirit of Dunkirk.
“It just took so long and everyone was really tired.”
A Qantas representative was eventually sent to the hotel from Sydney to explain that the delay of the relief plane reaching them was due to flight path clearances to Baku, and the delayed departure was due to curfew closing time on Heathrow. .
She said: ‘The reason why the rescue flight took so long to get here and missed the window at Heathrow was because of the machinations to get permission to fly on a direct route from Sydney to here (Baku).’
Ms Kennett said she was sympathetic to people getting connecting flights from London, and was thankful she wasn’t too badly affected.
The replacement aircraft will land at Heathrow early on Christmas Day, she said.
“I missed a few events, the Christmas Eve raffle at the pub – I’ll do it next year,” she laughed.
“I just go home – my husband picks me up – home to my dog.”
She said passengers had not been officially told whether the warning light indicating a possible fire was simply a faulty indicator, but that she had been told no smoke had been detected in the cargo hold.
Qantas has been contacted for comment.
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