Qantas seems to be plagued with mechanical issues at present, as two more flights from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport (MEL) were turned back on January 20, 2023.
This comes just one day after the Australian carrier had two separate B737 incidents: an Auckland to Sydney flight that landed after a mayday distress call, and a flight from Sydney to Fiji that circled the New South Wales coast for two hours before returning to Sydney.
The incidents occurred on January 18 and 19, 2023 respectively, on both occasions due to mechanical issues.
The two latest incidents, both of which occurred on January 20, 2023, were domestic flights from Melbourne to Canbrra and Sydney.
QF430 departed Melbourne 09.30 local time, bound for Sydney International Airport (SYD), but the Boeing 737 aircraft was forced to circle back after the pilots received an indication of a minor engine issue shortly after takeoff.
The aircraft landed back in MEL airport without any issues.
Not long after, a QantasLink flight QF1516 departed Melbourne at 10:30 local time, headed for the Australian capital city of Canberra. The Boeing 717 aircraft experienced issues with its flaps and was also forced to turn back to Melbourne Airport.
The flight also returned to MEL airport without any problems.
Qantas confirmed with local media that passengers from both flights were transferred to other flights throughout the day.
Qantas has a fleet of almost 124 aircraft currently in service, while its regional carrier, QantasLink, has about 103 fleet.
Qantas’ fleet is made up of over 75 Boeing B737s, the greatest number of a single aircraft in service with the carrier. However, from late 2024, some of the B737s will be retired and replaced by the Airbus A321XLR.