Qantas flight makes urgent landing at Sydney Airport over ‘unusual smell’

A Qantas flight to New Zealand had to make a sudden return to Sydney Airport this evening doe to an “unusual smell”.

A Qantas flight bound for New Zealand has had to turn back to Sydney Airport this evening after an “unusual smell” was reported inside the aircraft.

Flight QF163 from Sydney to Wellington, which left the airport’s International terminal about 6:40pm, was just over an hour into its journey east when the Boeing 737 abruptly turned back towards Sydney.

The aircraft’s pilots requested a priority landing at Sydney Airport, with firefighters and paramedics racing to the scene before the flight landed about 9:30pm.

A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed the flight to Wellington “returned to Sydney after reports of an unusual smell in the cabin”.

“The aircraft landed safely and will be checked by engineers before returning to service,” she said.

A cabin crew member was taken to hospital after being assessed by paramedics on the tarmac.

The spokeswoman said passengers onboard the flight would be rebooked “onto the next available flight”.

“We apologise for the disruption to their journey and thank them for their understanding,” she said.

More to come.