Qantas flight makes Istanbul stop after medical emergency

Passengers were stranded for hours on a Turkish runway after a medical emergency onboard a long haul flight to Sydney.

By Heath Parkes

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Qantas passengers have been stranded for hours on a Turkish runway after a flight on the airline’s flagship Sydney to London route was grounded for a medical emergency.

The QF2 flight departed the UK capital earlier on Tuesday and was diverted to Istanbul from its intended stopover in Singapore.

Text messages sent to those on board stated the unexpected stop was needed “to provide essential care to a passenger who became unwell during the flight”.

Passengers waited on board patiently.

According to one passenger on board, it took more than three hours before the plane departed Istanbul for its Singapore layover, with the flight set to continue on to Sydney.

The passenger shared conditions in the family-packed cabins, reporting that the toilets only had hand sanitiser and no running water.

Qantas says the Airbus380 was on the ground for two and a half hours before leaving for Singapore.

The airline said Qantas staff and passengers provided first aid onboard and the plane was diverted on the advice of medical experts.

The flight departed Istanbul about 2.20pm on Tuesday AEST. Picture: FlightAware.com

According to the passenger who spoke to news.com.au, staff initially “didn’t tell us what was happening” when the plan suddenly changed.

“They turned the lights back on after two minutes of being off, and the flight estimate time changed on the screens from 11 hours to 44 minutes.”

The passenger said one person who was seated on the plane’s top level was taken off the flight “seriously ill” but alive.