A flight diversion left Qantas passengers stranded on the tarmac of a packed plane for hours.
Flight QF2 from London to Sydney, with a stopover in Singapore, had been in the air for just over three hours when it suddenly turned over the Black Sea and landed at Istanbul Airport in Turkey at 12.45pm (AEST) on Tuesday.
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the route was rerouted after a passenger fell ill and required emergency medical treatment.
The remaining passengers were left on the tarmac in Istanbul for two and a half hours with no running water in the toilets.
The airline sent a text message to passengers after landing, explaining that they were “working to get you back to your destination as soon as possible.”
“But we will remain on board the plane to be ready to depart as soon as we have clearance,” the text said.
Some passengers in the packed cabin said Qantas crew initially refused to tell them why the flight had been diverted.
Passengers were left stranded on a packed plane on the tarmac at Istanbul Airport (pictured) after a Qantas flight between London and Sydney via Singapore was suddenly diverted.
“They turned the lights back on after two minutes of being off, and the estimated flight time changed on the screens from 11 hours to 44 minutes,” one said. news.com.au.
The traveller added that the sick passenger was helped off the upper level of the Airbus 380 “seriously ill” but alive.
“Imagine if it were you, you would want us to do this for you in this situation,” the pilot said over the intercom, according to the passenger.
They added that the air conditioning was “very weak” and that only water was available, despite the high temperatures.
The flight had been in the air for about three hours before making a turn over the Black Sea (pictured) after a passenger fell ill and needed emergency medical attention.
“Obviously everyone has snacks, milk, bottles, etc., but none of us had planned for an extra 2.5 hours (and counting),” the passenger added.
The next leg of the flight to Singapore took off from Istanbul shortly before 2.30pm.
The passenger said the flight attendants were “lovely” during the frustrating delay.
