LONDON – A Qantas Airbus A380 on a scheduled service from Singapore to London has been forced to make an unscheduled precautionary landing in Baku, Azerbaijan early on the morning of Friday December 23.
The Airbus A380, registered VH-OQH and designated Flight QF1, had made a normal departure from Singapore Changi Airport at 12.44am local time on Friday December 23 after a delay of approximately three-quarters of an hour.
Approximately nine hours into the flight, the aircraft was observed on the tracking site Flightradar24 as making a 180 degree turn close to the Georgian border near Tbilisi and commencing a descent.
The aircraft was squawking 7700 and making for Baku where it subsequently made an unscheduled landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) in Azerbaijan.
The decision to divert reportedly came as a result of an intermittent fault indicator in the cockpit. An unconfirmed report from the Baku airport’s social media page said that the landing was due to “smoke generated in the cargo compartment.”
The aircraft was met by emergency services after it landed without incident.
A spokesman for Qantas has been quoted as saying: “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.
“Engineers will inspect the aircraft prior to continuing its journey.”
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