Qantas passengers stranded in Azerbaijan after an emergency landing are expected to reach London by Christmas morning, following the deployment of a recovery flight from Australia. The flight departed Sydney at 11:40am on Saturday and is scheduled to collect the stranded passengers from Baku airport, continuing on to London to arrive 'early on Christmas morning', according to a Qantas statement released on Saturday afternoon.
The original flight from Singapore to London made an emergency landing at Baku airport on Friday due to concerns about smoke in the cargo hold. However, initial investigations found no evidence of smoke, and Qantas later indicated the incident was likely caused by a sensor fault. Passengers were left without confirmation of their onward travel for almost 24 hours after landing at 7am local time on Friday morning, with some taking to social media early on Saturday after receiving no communication from the airline since 4pm the previous day.
Among those affected were Julia and Kendall Brown, travelling with their two young children. Julia, who is English, had not been home for four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the visit was intended to be the first time her children met their cousins. 'We could have come for half the price in July but you can’t pay for Christmas memories,' she said. Kendall expressed concern about missing Christmas entirely, stating, 'The longer we go without a definitive way out, the closer that seems to be a genuine outcome.'
Passengers described a tense experience on the aircraft, with cabin lights coming on six hours before landing. Kendall noted that a crew member's urgent gesture to the lead steward indicated something was wrong. Many had noticed the plane change direction on the flight plan before an announcement was made over 90 minutes later. After landing, the plane taxied for about half an hour surrounded by emergency vehicles, but no one approached the aircraft. In the terminal, passengers faced an 11-hour wait, with limited food and water provided. Qantas, lacking ground staff in Baku, had to arrange visas for passengers.
Qantas has apologised to customers and thanked them for their patience. The airline confirmed that passengers spent the night at the Marriott Hotel with meals and transport provided. The recovery flight is one of the operational spares kept on standby over the holiday season. Qantas also thanked the Australian government and seven foreign governments for expediting flight path approvals. Engineers are travelling from London and Sydney to inspect the A380 in Baku.
