A Qantas flight from Sydney to Queenstown was turned around nearly a third of the way across the Tasman Sea, before being forced to divert back to Sydney last night.
An air traffic enthusiast was watching flight QF123 on flightradar24.com and said the Boeing 737-8 was supposed to leave Sydney at 4.05pm yesterday.
However, the three-hour flight did not takeoff until 5.53pm (local time).
Queenstown Airport’s close proximity to housing means under Civil Aviation Authority rules its operation hours are strictly between 7am and 10pm daily, to avoid noise complaints.
The flight was scheduled to arrive in Queenstown at 9.05pm (NZ time), but the delayed takeoff meant it was never going to be able to land in Queenstown before the 10pm curfew.
The enthusiast said ‘‘I'm not sure the pilots were made aware of the curfew for whatever reason, as if they were, they surely would not have departed anyway.’’
A Qantas spokesperson said the flight's delayed departure was due to an extended taxi time in Sydney, as result of poor weather and an earlier runway closure.
Once the flight took off and it was realised the it could not land due to the curfew, the decision was made to return to Sydney.
Qantas said "Our operations team explored all options including diverting the flight to Christchurch, but due to expected adverse weather in Christchurch, the decision was made to return to Sydney."
Passengers on board the diverted flight have been given seats on alternative flights this morning.
