Passengers fume as Qantas Perth to London flight QF9 cancelled

Passengers on Qantas’ non-stop Perth to London route face long delays after the flight was cancelled last night.

Flight QF9 was due to depart Perth International Airport at 5.05pm. However, an airline spokesman said the flight was cancelled due to an engineering issue.

The spokesman said parts were having to be sent over from Melbourne to fix the issue on the 787-9 Dreamliner.

“Passengers are being transferred to other flights within 24 hours of their original scheduled time. We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused,” he said.

The aircraft’s return flight, QF10 from London to Perth, has also been cancelled.

The airline says it has offered accommodation for visitors and transport home for Perth locals. The flight operated just once a day, meaning some passengers may need to wait until tonight to travel.

But Lloyd Quinlan claimed his mother was being forced to wait three days for a flight.

“They have rebooked my mother on a flight on Sunday, 3 days later! Then when she tried to extend her trip by three days to compensate for missed time they want to charge her $400? How is this reasonable?” he said.

One Twitter user fumed how she had been booked on to a flight with a stop and offered just four hours’ accommodation in a hotel to compensate for the delay.

“A rebooked flight that’s longer, arrives 15 hrs later and needs a change when I wanted non stop and 4 hrs in a hotel is apparently enough compensation for this cancellation??! Also I paid to get an aisle seat on the non stop but that’s not guaranteed now for my new flights,” @sophieGooner wrote on Twitter.

Qantas has refused to reveal how many passengers were on the flight.

The non-stop flight has been almost incident-free since launching in March.

But, in September, the flight was forced to turn around just two hours after take-off from Perth due to a disruptive passenger.

The incident caused big delays for passengers, with Qantas saying returning to Perth had pushed crew over their duty limits, meaning they were unable to fly again until 19 hours later.

The non-stop Perth to London flight has been dubbed a huge success for the airline.

In October, Qantas said the flight was operating with a capacity of 92 per cent, on average, and 94 per cent in premium classes. The capacity is the highest of any of the airline’s international routes.