Qantas passengers stranded on Istanbul runway for hours
A flight diversion left Qantas passengers stuck on the tarmac in a crowded plane for hours.
The QF2 flight from London to Sydney, via a stopover in Singapore, was in the air for over three hours when the aircraft suddenly landed at Istanbul airport in Turkey at 12.45pm (AEST) on Tuesday.
A Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the route was diverted after a passenger became ill and required urgent medical treatment.
The remaining passengers were left on the platform in Istanbul for two and a half hours, without running water in the toilets.
The airline sent passengers a text message after landing saying they were “doing everything we can to get you back on your way as soon as possible.”
“But we will remain on board the plane so that we are ready to leave as soon as we are cleared,” the text reads.
Some passengers in the crowded cabin claimed that Qantas crew initially refused to tell them why the flight had been diverted.
Passengers were stranded in a crowded plane on the runway at Istanbul Airport (pictured) after a Qantas flight between London and Sydney via Singapore was suddenly diverted
“After two minutes of the lights being off, they turned them back on and the estimated flight time on the screens changed from 11 hours to 44 minutes,” one of them said. news.com.au.
The traveller added that the sick passenger was helped from the top floor of the Airbus 380, “seriously ill” but alive.
“Imagine if this was you, you would want us to do this for you in this situation,” the pilot said over the intercom, according to the passenger.
They added that the air conditioning was “very weak” and that only water was available, despite the high temperatures.
The plane was in the air for about three hours before it made a turn over the Black Sea (pictured) after a passenger became ill and required emergency medical attention
“Of course everyone has snacks, milk, bottles, etc., but none of us anticipated the extra 2.5 hours (and counting),” the passenger added.
The next leg of the flight to Singapore departed from Istanbul shortly before 2:30 p.m.
The passenger noted that the flight attendants were “nice” during the frustrating delay.
