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Greater than 400 passengers and crew who had been anticipating to be lining up for passport management at Heathrow airport are as a substitute on the shore of the Caspian Sea – with little readability about after they may full their journey from Australia to the UK.
Their aircraft was diverted to Baku in Azerbaijan, reportedly because of a warning of a fireplace in a cargo maintain.
Qantas flight QF1 from Sydney through Singapore to London had beforehand been making good progress for an early morning arrival at Heathrow.
Knowledge on Flightradar24 reveals the Airbus A380, registered VH-OQH, was flying west usually at 36,000 toes over central Georgia at 2.15am GMT. However then it rotated and flew east for 400 miles, touchdown safely in Azerbaijan.
The double-decker jet landed at Baku airport – the closest within the area with the amenities to deal with the world’s greatest passenger aircraft.
A Qantas spokesperson informed The Impartial: “The plane intermittently alerted the pilots to the potential of smoke within the cargo maintain.
“Though it was thought-about prone to be a sensor fault, the plane diverted to Baku as a security precaution.
“Preliminary investigations have discovered no proof of smoke within the cargo maintain.
“We thank clients for his or her persistence and we’re working to get them on their manner as shortly as doable.”
Qantas doesn’t have a base on the Azeri capital, or wherever shut by. The pilots may also have reached their flight-time limitations and would require relaxation earlier than persevering with the journey. The earliest the aircraft might proceed is believed to be mid-evening, arriving at Heathrow late on Friday night.
There are not any various direct flights to the UK, although Turkish Airways has restricted availability on departures from Baku to Istanbul and connecting flights to London.
As well as, travellers booked on connecting flights from Heathrow to Scotland, Northern Eire or elsewhere might want to attempt to discover scarce seats on Christmas Eve departures.
The plane was because of go away London Heathrow for the return journey to Singapore and Sydney at 8.40pm on Friday. It has now been rescheduled for 9.30am on Christmas Eve, arriving over 12 hours late.
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