A Qantas Boeing 737-800 bound for Wellington, New Zealand returned to Sydney after an odour was detected on board on 2 October 2024.
Qantas flight QF163, operated by a Boeing 737-800, was en route to Wellington over the Tasman Sea when the incident was reported. The crew reported the presence of an unusual odour in the passenger cabin.
Qantas QF163 Sydney-Wellington
Following the report, flight crew elected to make a precautionary return to Sydney and a direct trek to the origin airport was initiated.
The flight then landed at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) approximately 2 hours after its initial departure.
The airline referred one cabin crew member to the hospital for a medical assessment after the flight landed. The hospital discharged the crewmember after assessing them.
Engineers inspected the aircraft before it returned to service. It was able to depart for Wellington after approximately 18 hours on the ground.
Flight Details
Flight data shows that flight QF163 had made an on-time departure out of Sydney. Actual departure time was logged as 1841 local time on 2 October.
The flight had set course normally, climbing to flight level FL370 (37,000 feet) for the trans-Tasman crossing to New Zealand. Flight crew carried out the diversion when the aircraft was in cruising flight approximately 400 nautical miles to the south east of Sydney on flight plan track.
The aircraft conducting the QF163 service to New Zealand was a Boeing 737-800, registered VH-XZL. This is a 10.2-year-old narrowbody aircraft belonging to the national carrier Qantas.
It has been an operational service with the airline since its initial delivery from the factory in July 2014. The aircraft operates under the airline name of ‘Flinders’.
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