Virgin Australia’s long flight to nowhere after mid-trip turn back

A Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to Queenstown has turned around more than halfway into the journey due to engineering issues.

A Virgin Australia flight has returned to Brisbane more than halfway through a flight to Queenstown because of an engineering issue. Picture: Jenny Evans/NCA NewsWire

A Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to Queenstown has turned around more than halfway into the journey due to engineering issues.

Flight VA117 took off just after 10.30am and was about two hours into the trip when the pilot advised passengers they were returning to Brisbane.

The 11-year-old Boeing 737-800 was due to land in Brisbane before 2.30pm AEST, about 30-minutes after the flight would have arrived in Queenstown.

Brisbane Airport was aware the flight was returning, but advised no “emergency situation” had been declared.

It was understood the engineering support required was not available in Queenstown, prompting the decision to return to Brisbane despite more time in the air.

Returning Virgin Australia flight. Picture: Flightradar24

Virgin Australia indicated they were working through recovery options to get guests back on track as soon as possible, with a potential ad hoc service being considered.

Late Monday, Virgin Australia confirmed passengers would be accommodated on a dedicated service on Tuesday and would provide hotel accommodation for those who did not live in Brisbane.

The airline has been struggling with poor on time performance partly due to fleet limitations, with insufficient aircraft to swap in, in the event of mechanical issues.

In a further blow, Boeing recently advised Virgin Australia of a slowdown in the delivery of new Max 737-8s due to the manufacturer’s own supply chain woes.

Instead of ten of the aircraft arriving in 2024, Virgin was expecting only four, with the remainder now due in 2025.