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One passenger and one flight attendant were taken to hospital after turbulence struck a QantasLink flight from Brisbane to Hervey Bay on Wednesday.
The De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400, VH-LQG, departed the Queensland capital at 12:39 pm before turning around over Rainbow Beach, 120km from Hervey Bay, to return home.
The Australian reported the passengers hurt were not wearing seatbelts at the time, and the crew were serving drinks.
One passenger told Nine those lightly injured “hit the roof” when the turbulence struck, but the aircraft landed safely without an emergency landing needed.
The accident is the latest in a series of minor incidents involving Qantas aircraft in the last two months.
Earlier this week, Australian Aviation reported how passengers who had already boarded a last-minute cancelled Qantas flight destined for Sydney were forced to camp on the aircraft due to the flooding of Auckland Airport.
Roughly 200 passengers who were seated on Qantas flight QF148 were told the flight had been cancelled due to the flooding of the airport’s tarmac.
Adding to their woes, Qantas told passengers that they would be unable to re-enter the terminal due to obvious safety concerns, meaning they would need to wait on the plane.
Staff were also reportedly worried that not all of the plane’s toilets were working, according to passenger Mark Andrews, who spoke with Radio New Zealand. Despite this, he confirmed that the onboard ‘vibes’ were positive.
However, several passengers took to social media to express their discontent with the situation.
Staff on board the aircraft provided passengers with food and allowed them to stand and walk along the airbridge to stretch their legs. The lights on the plane were also dimmed, and business-class passengers were offered complimentary champagne.
After six and a half hours, passengers were allowed to enter the terminal.
The flooding that hit Auckland was declared a state of emergency, with the water filling homes, roads and, of course, the airport.
