SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A Qantas flight from Singapore to London has been diverted to Baku, Azerbaijan, because of a technical issue in the cockpit.
Flight QF1 departed from Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 at 12.44am on Friday (Dec 23), following a delay of 49 minutes.
Several flight trackers online, including the Swedish Flightradar24 website, said the Heathrow-bound aircraft began squawking “7700” – the communications code for an emergency – at around 10.15am (Singapore time), and made a U-turn in Georgian airspace near the capital Tbilisi.
The Airbus A380, which came into service in August 2009, then landed at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku at 11.07am.
“Our flight from Singapore to London has made an unscheduled landing at Baku airport in Azerbaijan after pilots received an intermittent fault indicator in the cockpit,” said a Qantas spokesman in response to queries from The Straits Times.
“Engineers will inspect the aircraft prior to it continuing its journey.”
The spokesman later added that the pilots were alerted to the potential of smoke in the cargo hold.
Said the spokesman: “Although it was considered likely to be a sensor fault, the aircraft diverted to Baku as a safety precaution. Initial investigations have found no evidence of smoke in the cargo hold.”
Ruth Baker, 50, an Australian who was on the flight with her two children aged 10 and 12, told ST that about 10 hours into the flight, her son noticed on the flight tracker that the plane was doing a 180-degree turn.
“Shortly after, the captain announced that there was an intermittent indicator of concern with regard to the cargo bay,” said Baker.
“He was calm and informative, assuring us that we were safe, but to be 100 per cent cautious, he was turning us back to Baku.”
She added: “Upon landing the crew were excellent and the Baku ground crew were wonderful. One gave his own coat to my 10-year-old son who was tired and a bit overwhelmed.”
According to an update on Facebook by Baku Airport, 356 passengers were on board the flight.
