Runway drama sees Qantas passengers catch the bus to destination

A mechanical issue and a too-short runway see Qantas passengers forced to catch the bus.

All up, the journey took 8-hours longer than planned Picture: Qantas

Qantas passengers on a flight from Melbourne to Wellington were forced to finish their trip in buses after a mechanical issue with the aeroplane saw it divert to a Royal New Zealand Air Force base.

Flight QF171 operated by a Boeing 737-800 is thought to have experienced a wing flap extension issue, which made Wellington’s 1.8km runway too short for landing.

Wing flaps play a variety of roles in takeoffs and touch downs, one of which is increasing drag and helping the aircraft slow down during landings.

Qantas would normally divert to Palmerston North in that situation but bad weather ruled out that option, so the flight was diverted to the RNZAF base at Ohakea with runways of 2.4km and 2.1km.

The plane landed without incident, and passengers waited for several hours in the aircraft while alternative transport was organised. They were eventually put on buses to travel the 150km to Wellington.

All up, the journey took 8-hours longer than planned.

#QF171 Can’t leave plane because no customs, can’t fly plane as broken, can’t get replacement plane (easily at least) as at air base. A difficult problem to solve @Qantas! @nzherald @NZStuff @radionz

— Suzy McKinney (@suzyemckinney) November 16, 2019

A Qantas spokesman apologised to passengers for the disruption but said safety would always be their first priority.

After being checked out, the aircraft registered VH-VZU, was able to fly on to Wellington and undertook a scheduled flight to Sydney on Sunday morning without further incident.

Wellington Airport has one of the shorter runways for international airports and geographical constraints mean it is unable to be extended.

Wellington Airport is constrained by geography. Picture: Supplied.

Runways of 2.4km are considered the most suitable for wide body aircraft landings, and 1.8km the minimum for narrow body aeroplanes like 737s.