Jetstar flight sent back to Melbourne during curfew at Adelaide Airport
A Jetstar flight given permission to land during the curfew at Adelaide Airport has been turned back to Melbourne because of night works on the runway.
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A Jetstar flight given permission to break the Adelaide Airport curfew was sent back to Melbourne because of night works on its main runway.
The incident has reignited debate about the curfew, with passengers questioning why their flight had approval to land only to have it revoked 25 minutes out of Adelaide.
Many of the passengers aboard flight JQ 776 were forced to sleep at Tullamarine Airport when they could not find accommodation because of the Australian Open.
One of them has told The Advertiser their plane was flying over Meningie on Wednesday night when the pilot announced they were returning to Melbourne.
Former Adelaide optician Peter Eckert said the pilot told passengers the permission to land during the curfew had been revoked.
Mr Eckert, 50, said the scheduled departure of JQ 776 at 9.20pm had been delayed for an hour after severe weather in Victoria disrupted operations at the airport.
“It was absolutely chaotic because of a dust storm, gusty winds and heavy rain,” he said.
“Flights coming in had been delayed all day which meant flights leaving also were delayed. The (arrivals and departures) board was going nuts.
“Our flight was meant to get into Adelaide at 10.10pm but it got delayed by an hour, meaning we were meant to land around 11.30pm.”
Mr Eckert, who now lives in Bali, said the flight was constantly hit by turbulence, with the seatbelt warning light remaining activated.
“It was a really rough flight all the way across before the pilot came on and told the cabin crew to get ready for landing,” he said.
“We all had our seat belts fastened when the pilot came on and told the cabin crew to get ready for landing.”
“Then he came back on and said we were turning around because our permission to land had been revoked. It just wasn’t good enough.”
Mr Eckert, who had been to the Australian Open with three friends, said the flight got back to Melbourne at 12.30am, leaving passengers looking for accommodation.
“There was nowhere to stay in the city because of the tennis and the only places were out in places like Box Hill which were too far away,” he said.
“I managed to get some sleep but my mates didn’t.
Adelaide Airport referred The Advertiser to the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, saying it was responsible for administering the airport’s curfew.
The department said JQ 776 could not land because night works were underway. The department had given Jetstar given permission at 10.40pm to break the curfew.
“At 11.17pm the department was contacted by Airservices Australia to notify that the main runway at Adelaide Airport was not available due to runway works,” it said.
“Jetstar were advised at 11.22pm that the main runway was not available and, for safety reasons, the aircraft was not able to land at Adelaide Airport and would have to return to Melbourne.”
A Jetstar spokesman said the airline made every effort to find accommodation for the passengers but encountered difficulties because of the Australian Open, with some passengers choosing to sleep at the airport.
“Due to weather affecting aircraft departures from Melbourne last night, we were given approval to land in Adelaide after curfew,” he said.
“Unfortunately this approval was revoked on approach to Adelaide and the flight returned to Melbourne.”
The spokesman said Jetstar understood delays were frustrating for passengers.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused,” he said.
“Affected customers were offered the option of a refund or if they wanted to continue to travel on the alternative flight arranged, they were offered accommodation, meal allowances and transport to and from hotels.”
Passengers from JQ 776 were flown back to Adelaide on Thursday morning.