An “unusual smell” forced a Qantas plane en route to New Zealand to turn back and make a priority landing in Sydney, where a cabin crew member was rushed to hospital.
QF163 left Sydney shortly after 6.40pm on Wednesday night but was forced to turn around about an hour into its scheduled three-hour flight to Wellington.
The Boeing 737 was seen landing at Sydney Airport around 9:30 pm and was quickly moved to a terminal, where it was surrounded by multiple fire trucks and ambulances waiting at the scene.
Paramedics took a cabin crew member to hospital as a precaution.
A Qantas spokesperson said it was not an emergency landing but a “priority” one.
“A flight from Sydney to Wellington returned to Sydney after reports of an unusual smell in the cabin,” the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
A Qantas flight was forced to turn back about an hour on its journey from Sydney to Wellington after an “unusual smell” filled the cabin (file image)
Upon landing, a member of the cabin crew was taken to hospital as a “precautionary measure” (file image)
“The aircraft landed safely and will be checked by engineers before returning to service.”
Passengers on board will spend the night in Sydney.
“Customers will receive accommodation and be rebooked on the next available flight,” the spokesperson added.
“We apologize for the interruption to your trip and thank you for your understanding.”
NSW Ambulance confirmed one person was taken to hospital but did not provide further details.