Qatar Airways was en route from Australia towards Qatar, when the pilots of the airline’s Airbus A380 declared an emergency and after making several circles over Malacca Strait, finally landed in Malaysia.
Qatar Airways Flight QR905 was scheduled to fly from Melbourne (Australia) to Doha (Qatar) on March 17, 2020. However, as the Airbus A380 aircraft was passing along the shores of Indonesia, the flight crew squawked 7700 and took a turn towards Malaysia. The aircraft made several circles in the air, before finally landing in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL).
Media reports indicate the unexpected change of course was caused by an unruly passenger’s behavior onboard. After the A380 landed in Kuala Lumpur, the passenger was disembarked and met by the airport’s security staff, the Newshub reported, citing a Qatar Airways spokesperson.
A couple of hours later, the aircraft (registration number A7-APG) took off from Kuala Lumpur. However, instead of flying to the original destination in Doha, the superjumbo landed in Muscat (Oman). Reportedly, due to the delay caused by the unruly passenger, the crew onboard had reached their limit of working hours and had to be replaced.
#QR905, Melbourne-Doha, is squawking 7700 and now tracking toward Singapore. Still at FL370. Reason for diversion currently unknown. https://t.co/Ww3gJgiOJR
For more information on ‘Squawking 7700’ please see https://t.co/nW7vZ4JgMF pic.twitter.com/ECBxHIsS4J
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 17, 2020