Qantas passengers, crew face night in Azerbaijan following diversion for medical emergency

Qantas’s popular QF2 flight has diverted to Azerbaijan due to a medical emergency that will see crew and passengers stopover in Baku.

A Qantas Airbus A380 previously diverted to Azerbaijan in December 2022 due to a smoke in the cargo hold.

Passengers and crew of Qantas’ QF2 flight from London to Singapore will spend the night in Azerbaijan after a medical emergency prompted a diversion to the capital Baku.

Flight radar images show the A380 was about eight hours into its journey when the on-board medical drama prompted pilots to make the decision to land at Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Due to crew being out of hours, Qantas said all onboard would be accommodated in Baku until Tuesday after pilots and flight attendants were sufficiently rested.

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed the medical incident, and stressed there was “no emergency landing” in Baku.

“We apologise to customers for the disruption and are working to get them on their way to Singapore as soon as possible,” she said.

Qantas flight QF2 diverted to Baku. Picture: Flightradar24

Accommodation would be provided for all on board the A380 which can seat as many as 484 passengers.

The second leg of flight QF2 from Singapore to Sydney was also impacted by the diversion, with Qantas confirming Monday’s service would be cancelled and rescheduled for Tuesday.

It’s not the first time Qantas has landed at Heydar Aliyev International, after cockpit alerts indicating smoke in the cargo hold forced an A380 to touch down in Baku in December 2022.

On that occasion the flight was en route from Singapore to London, with Qantas faced with a major logistical challenge to get passengers to their destination in time for Christmas.

In the case of emergencies, airlines typically seek out the most suitable airport with sufficient runway length and appropriate facilities for landing.

A runway of 3km in length is required for an A380 to land and takeoff.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport has two runways both of which are suitable for a superjumbo, with the longest 4km in length, and the second runway 3.2km long.

Originally published as Qantas passengers, crew face night in Azerbaijan following diversion for medical emergency