Passengers on a Qantas A380 flight from Melbourne to Dubai spent eight hours in the air only to return to Sydney.
The airline blamed engineering problems for the decision to turn the plane around after crew reported a ‘slight vibration issue’.
Flight tracking websites showed the aircraft circling over new South Wales and waiting for some time for a holding slot at Sydney during the busy morning period.
Qantas has A380 maintenance facilities at Sydney Airport.
Flight QF9 landed at Sydney at around 6.50am local time on Tuesday, more than eight hours after it left Melbourne.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the 410 passengers were put on to a replacement flight, more than 10 hours after their initial flight left Melbourne.
The flight to Dubai should have taken 14 hours.
