Qantas passengers delayed in Dubai for almost two days

Qantas has described a delay which saw passengers stranded in Dubai for more than 40 hours as “very unusual”.

Flight QF2 operating from London to Sydney departed on schedule on Monday, but was stranded in Dubai during a scheduled stopover in the city due to a fault with the A380’s air conditioning system.

Passengers were put up in hotels overnight, but returned to Dubai International Airport on Tuesday to be told there was a “further engineering issue” causing additional delays.

Some passengers took to social media to share their frustration.

“I’ve been delayed for nearly 48 hours in Dubai airport and spent 7 hours inside an airplane with no AC and +40 degrees temperature,” Nikolaos Souliwtis wrote on the airline’s Facebook page.

“A hotel and food vouchers aren’t going to solve the lack of communication and help.”

Others praised the airline for its service during the ordeal.

“I would like to thank Qantas for their amazing support with the delays of QF002 over the past 39 hours in Dubai,” wrote Craig Ellison.

“The captain, crew and ground staff have been amazing in very trying circumstances.”

Due to continuing issues with the aircraft, Qantas commissioned an A380 from partner airline Emirates and the flight took off from Dubai to Sydney on Wednesday morning. The flight is scheduled to land around 8pm Wednesday (local time).

The Qantas A380 is expected to arrive back in Sydney on Thursday morning, after undergoing repairs in Dubai.

Qantas has apologised for the inconvenience caused.

“We appreciate this has been an extremely frustrating time for passengers and apologise sincerely. Delays like this are very unusual, and very regrettable, but we will always put safety before schedule.”

In February, a Qantas flight from Dubai to Melbourne was diverted to Singapore’s Changi Airport due to a mechanical fault with the A380.

Read more: Qantas flight from Dubai to Melbourne diverted over mechanical fault

On New Year’s Eve, hundreds of Qantas passengers bound for Sydney were stranded in Dubai, again due to a technical problem with the aircraft.

Also read: Qantas flight to Dubai returns to Sydney due to technical snag
Qantas Flight From Dubai To Sydney Diverted To Perth After AC Fault