ISTANBUL- Qantas (QF), the A380 flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and Singapore Changi (SIN) diverted to Istanbul (IST), Turkey following a medical emergency.
The incident occurred on December 2, 2024, on the Qantas flight QF2 en route to Sydney (SYD) via Singapore.
Qantas London to Singapore Flight Diverted
According to Havasosyalmedya, a reputed English-language media company based out of Turkey, the Qantas flight QF2 was diverted to Istanbul after a passenger fell ill mid-air.
Following this, the sick passenger and his companions were taken off the plane accompanied by medical teams. They were allowed to enter the country without a Visa and taken to the hospital.
According to FlightRadar24 data, Qantas Flight QF2 took off from London at 8:37 PM UTC. After being airborne for around three hours, the cabin crew notified the captain about the passenger falling sick. At this point, they were over the Black Sea.
Qantas pilots contacted the Istanbul ATC and after having permission, they diverted. But the flight was carrying more fuel needed to reach Singapore. They dumped and burnt extra fuel to avoid heavy landing for 30 minutes and landed safely in Istanbul at 1:16 AM UTC.
The flight refueled and took off again at 4:51 AM UTC (remained on the ground for 3 hours and 35 minutes) and landed in Singapore at 3:01 PM UTC.
The flight was operated by a 16.9-year-old Airbus A380-842, registered as VH-OQA. The exact details on how many crew and passengers were onboard are not known, but Qantas A380 has the following seating:
- 14 First,
- 70 Business,
- 60 Premium Economy and
- 341 Economy seats
Qantas A380 Routes
Qantas long-haul A380 flights:
- The Australian carrier maintains 2 weekly A380 flights from Melbourne (MEL) to Los Angeles (LAX).
- Sydney (SYD) to Johannesburg (JNB) operates 6 weekly A380 flights.
- SYD to LAX has one daily A380 service.
- SYD to SIN to LHR has one daily A380 flight.
Similar Incident
On July 14, 2023, Qantas Flight QF2, an Airbus A380, encountered technical issues during its London to Singapore and onward to Sydney route, necessitating an emergency return to London Heathrow Airport.
Flight tracking data from Flight Radar 24 revealed details of the incident. The aircraft departed London Heathrow (LHR) at 8:30 PM UTC, with the flight crew detecting technical problems approximately 90 minutes after takeoff.
At 10:02 PM UTC, the crew initiated a U-turn back to the origin airport. Notably, the aircraft maintained an altitude of 34,000 feet, indicating the issue was not related to pressurization.
The flight crew implemented a precautionary landing approach without burning or dumping extra fuel. Significantly, they did not activate the standard emergency signal (Squawk 7700), suggesting a measured response to the technical complications.
The aircraft landed safely at London Heathrow at 12:13 AM UTC, approximately two hours after the initial technical issue was detected.
Specific aircraft details confirm the involved aircraft was an Airbus A380-842, registered as VH-OQI. Records from planespotters.net indicate this is a 13-year-old aircraft, originally delivered to Qantas in 2011.
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