An “unusual smell” aboard an Australian flight caused the plane to land back where it started and a crew member to be rushed to the hospital on Wednesday.
The New Zealand-bound Qantas flight, QF163, took off from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at around 6:45 p.m. local time without any issues.
But over an hour in, a strange odor inside the cabin caught the attention of the crew and the pilot, who decided to turn the plane around.
The Boeing 737 touched down on the runway of Syndey Airport shortly after 9 p.m.
“A flight from Sydney to Wellington returned to Sydney after reports of an unusual smell in the cabin,” a Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au.
The plane “landed safely” after the pilot called for a “priority” landing — not an “emergency landing,” the spokesperson noted.
After the plane arrived at the airport, a cabin crew member was taken to the hospital for a precautionary medical examination.
The aircraft was checked by engineers who determined the odd odor was caused by “a product used while fixing a party in the galley area during routine maintenance,” a company spokesperson told The Post.
The Boeing has since been put back into service, and all customers on the diverted flight were given replacement bookings to their destination.
“We apologize for the disruption to their journey and thank them for their understanding,” Qantas said.
