Qantas flight forced to turn around midway to Philippines

A flight travelling to the Philippines was among hundreds forced to turn back mid-flight after a major issue at the destination.

A Qantas flight heading to the Philippines for the New Year never arrived on Sunday after a power outage at the destination caused mayhem for tens of thousands of international travellers.

The QF19 flight to Manila departed Sydney at 12.39pm and was just three hours into its journey when the pilot informed them they would have to turn around.

More than 360 flights to Manila were impacted by a five-hour closure of the city’s airspace which saw flights cancelled or diverted to Hong Kong or Bangkok airports.

The QF19 flight to Manila departed Sydney at 12.39pm and was just three hours into its journey when the pilot informed them they would have to turn around.

Philippines Transportation department secretary Jaime Bautista told AFP a power outage had resulted in the loss of communication, radio, radar and internet and ultimately, the air traffic management centre.

“The secondary problem was the power surge due to the power outage which affected the equipment,” he said.

A Qantas spokesperson said the flight was prevented from arriving in Manila as local authorities had closed the local airspace.

NCA newswire understands the flight refuelled in Sydney and departed again on Sunday evening.

Here is traffic in the Manila FIR now and from 2 weeks ago at the same time. (Last Sunday was Christmas, so volumes lower anyway) pic.twitter.com/QHi8n32DAI

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 1, 2023

At least 56,000 passengers were caught up in the chaos as countless flights were turned around mid-air or stranded on the tarmac for hours.

Many took to social media to vent their outrage over the situation, including Filipino businessman Manny Pangilinan.

“Six hours of useless flying but inconvenience to travellers and losses to tourism and business are horrendous. Only in the PH. Sigh,” he tweeted.

Thousands of passengers were impacted by the power glitch. Picture: KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / AFP

Another user wrote on Monday morning AEDT: “Us, who were flying out of Manila, who experienced that glitch are still stuck here in Inchon.”

“No sleep, so tired. Not sure if we can get a seat in the next flight to where we’re going,” they said.

“First flight of 2023 didn’t go as planned. Four hours in the aircraft just to step down,” a third user wrote.

The air traffic management system was partially restored by 4.00pm (1900 AEDT) and flights were able to take off and land at the airport.

The chaos came less than 24 hours after a United Airlines flight packed with 300 passengers heading to Sydney for New Years Eve were forced to make an emergency landing in American Samoa.

United #UA839 from Los Angeles to Sydney diverted to Pago Pago in the middle of the Pacific due to right engine issuehttps://t.co/es2ZuhExaBpic.twitter.com/KQMiQh5Jev

— AIRLIVE (@airlivenet) December 30, 2022

United flight 839 landed at Pago Pago Airport around 6.22am on Saturday due to a “mechanical issue”.

“We’re making use of our facilities, including available hotel options, to accommodate our customers, and will fly in a new aircraft to the island so they can finish their trip to Sydney soon,” a statement from the airline read.

A relative of one passenger took to Twitter to say those on board were being looked after by locals on the island.

“My daughter is now stranded,” one man tweeted.

“They (passengers) showered at hanger, got tour of island and drinking beers on deserted beach.”