Yet another Qantas flight has been diverted after suffering an in-flight problem. The flight from Fiji to Sydney, operated by a Boeing 737, had to return to its departure airport due to fumes in the cabin. Let's take a closer look.

Latest Qantas turnback

On Sunday, January 22nd, Flight QF102 from Nadi International Airport (NAN), Fiji, to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), Australia, had to turn back and land in Fiji after smoke was detected in the cabin. After taking off at a delay of over an hour, the flight was diverted around 45 minutes into its journey to Sydney as a precaution, landing safely back in Fiji around 90 minutes after departure.

According to MSN, an early investigation has revealed an oven in the galley as the likely culprit of the fumes. Engineers will now examine the aircraft to determine the cause. This incident follows a flurry of diversion affecting Qantas aircraft in a short space of time - as Simple Flying reported a few days ago, three Qantas flights in three days have experienced issues following a Qantas Boeing 737 turning back to Melbourne after suffering an engine problem.

None of the passengers involved in this latest incident were harmed, and the aircraft (a Boeing 737-800 with registration: VH-VZT) landed safely with no further problems. Pilots of the plane did not issue a Mayday call, instead requesting priority landing at Fiji. This is the second problem experienced on a Qantas Fiji flight this week after one of its Boeing 737s had to turn around due to a mechanical issue,

About VH-VZT

The affected aircraft is an 11-year-old Qantas Boeing 737-800 delivered to the airline in October 2011. The jet, which can seat 12 in business class and 162 in economy, remains on the ground at the time of publication. According to ch-aviation, as of July 2022, the aircraft had conducted over 29,000 flight hours and 14,500 flight cycles.

Discover more aviation news with Simple Flying.

What is going on at Qantas?

Today's turnback is the fifth such incident to occur at Qantas in the space of a week, raising questions about the standard of maintenance at the Australian airline. Perhaps the most worrying incident occurred on Wednesday when an engine shut down on Qantas flight QF144 between Auckland and Sydney as it flew over the Tasman Sea.

Qantas domestic chief executive Andrew David said,

"Aircraft are complex pieces of machinery with millions of moving parts, and it's not uncommon to have a problem with one of them. What's important to know is that aircraft are designed with that in mind and have a lot of built-in redundancy, and our crew are trained to deal with those situations so that they can land safely."

Qantas has also had issues with its Airbus A380s after one of its planes was forced to divert to Baku last month - on this occasion, it was discovered to have been a false alert due to a faulty smoke sensor. In support of Qantas, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority released a statement on Friday which said,

"The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is confident Qantas is operating safely and has confidence in its safety management systems. CASA actively reviews and monitors the aviation industry, using regular surveillance, frequent engagement with airlines to review incidents and trends and works closely with the ATSB to scrutinise safety reports, findings and data."

Were you onboard Flight QF102 from Fiji to Sydney on Sunday? Tell us your side of the story in the comments.

Source: MSN, ch-aviation

• 

  Qantas

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  QF/QFA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Brisbane Airport, Melbourne Airport, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport

  Year Founded:

  1920

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Alan Joyce

  Country:

  Australia