Jetstar flight from Brisbane to Whitsundays rocked by storm turbulence

A Jetstar trip through wild weather made for chaotic scenes on-board a Brisbane to Whitsundays flight as panicked passengers clung to one another. Now, a pilot has explained the reason for the rough ride.

A Jetstar plane flew through wild weather travelling up the east coast on its way from Brisbane to Proserpine Airport on Thursday, December 8, 2022.

A Jetstar flight heading from Brisbane to Proserpine Airport turned hellish after hitting turbulence and rattling experienced cabin crew and passengers.

Passengers on-board JQ834 left on the delayed Airbus A320 flight at about 4pm on Thursday December 8 before flying through a severe weather event two-thirds the way through the trip.

The Bureau of Metereology had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds and large hailstones for people in southeast Queensland at 1.30pm, several hours before the plane departed.

Storm warning for parts of Queensland issued Thursday December 9, 2022.

While Jetstar has since explained that as “uncomfortable” as turbulence could be, planes were built to withstand weather pilots were well trained, passengers still expressed their surprise at the rough ride.

Witnesses said the seat belt sign came on early in the flight.

The first drinks and food service was almost complete when a second bout of more severe turbulence hit the aircraft.

The service cart stationed in the aisle crashed against seats before a chief flight attendant abruptly ordered two of the air hostesses to head to the back and sit down, one passenger said.

Some passengers clutched each other for support as the plane withstood the intense turbulence.

“We are all in this together,” one passenger remarked.

The plane cleared its way through the weather event after about seven minutes.

One of the air hostesses said it was the worst turbulence she had ever experienced.

“That was so bad,” she said to shocked passengers, while one moved to a vacant row of seats at the back of the plane to lie down after the turbulence passed.

As the plane descended, the captain apologised to everyone on board, explaining he had done his best to find a way through the bad weather.

Passengers were happy to see the Heart Reef aquarium at Whitsunday Airport when they touched down. Picture: Katrina Lezaic

Travellers safely touched down at Whitsunday Airport at about 5.45pm.

Jetstar’s Chief Pilot Jeremy Schmidt said the pilots and crew “did exactly what they are trained to do and ensured everyone was seated with their seatbelts fastened as the aircraft passed through a line of clouds”.

“I understand at times turbulence can be uncomfortable and some customers may get nervous, but my advice is there is no need to be,” Mr Schmidt said

“Aircraft are designed to deal with turbulence and our pilots and crew are very well practised and trained to manage it.”

The experienced pilot explained turbulence was “just a change in wind speed or direction that may be caused by many factors, such as cloud formations, hot air rising from the earth’s surface on a hot day, strong winds at altitude called ‘jet streams’ or wind passing over mountains or other terrain”.

“Pilots get warnings about possible turbulence from a number of sources including on-board radar systems, weather forecasts, reports from other aircraft and air traffic control,” he said

“This information allows our pilots to safely plan and manage their flight paths well in advance to avoid turbulence or minimise the level of turbulence a flight may experience.

“When a flight is required to pass through an area of forecast turbulence, such as light or moderate turbulence, our pilots manage the aircraft tracking and speed to minimise the effects and prepare the cabin in advance by seating everyone and directing that seat belts must be fastened.”

The weather bureau also released a report stating severe thunderstorms developed over parts of southeast and central Queensland on Thursday.

“Gympie, and surrounding areas, were particularly impacted by hail with downed trees as a result of damaging winds. Damaging winds, large to giant hail and bursts of rain of up to 50mm were observed on Thursday afternoon and evening,” the report said.

A heatwave warning has also been issued in parts of Central and North Queensland for the weekend.