Qantas sends rescue flight to Azerbaijan after stranded passengers left in the dark

Qantas passengers stranded in Azerbaijan after an emergency landing are expected to make it to London by Christmas morning, after the airline deployed a recovery flight from Australia.

The flight from Singapore to London made an emergency landing at Baku airport on Friday due to concerns there was smoke in the cargo hold, but initial investigations found no evidence of smoke. Qantas later said the incident was likely a sensor fault.

Passengers were left without confirmation how they would be getting to London for almost 24 hours after landing at 7am, local time, on Friday morning. Some passengers took to social media in the early hours of Saturday morning when the airline had not provided any communication at all since 4pm the day before.

Julia, who is English, had not been able to go home for four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the visit was supposed to be the first time her children met their cousins. Her parents would also have their six grandchildren together for the first time.

The first signs that their holiday was being derailed was when the cabin lights came on with six hours to go on the flight.

Many passengers had noticed the plane had changed direction on the flight plan before an announcement was eventually made more than 90 minutes after the cabin lights were turned on, Kendall said.

An even longer wait ensued in the airport terminal in Baku, where the Brown family spent more than 11 hours.

Because Baku was not a regular destination for Qantas, the airline did not have ground staff at the airport and also had to make arrangements for the stranded passengers to get visas.

Twelve hours after the plane landed in Azerbaijan at 7am in the morning, the Browns arrived at the Marriott Hotel, Julia and their children falling asleep in the hotel lobby as Kendall waited to check-in.

Qantas has apologised to customers and thanked them for their patience as the airline finalised the recovery plans.

Qantas engineers are also travelling from London and Sydney to inspect the A380 in Baku.