Passengers faced Boxing Day travel disruption after a Qantas flight was cancelled due to a significant fuel leak at Launceston Airport.
The incident occurred at approximately 7:25pm on Friday December 26 when a QantasLink E190 aircraft, scheduled to operate flight QF1838 between Launceston and Brisbane, experienced a major fuel leak.
Travellers had already boarded the aircraft when fuel was spotted gushing onto the runway, forcing the airline to cancel the service and disembark all passengers.
Video footage captured at the scene showed fuel pouring onto the tarmac beneath the stationary aircraft.
A Qantas spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement to Pulse.
“A Qantas flight from Launceston Airport on Friday was cancelled due to a fuel spill from the aircraft, prior to departure,” the spokesperson said.
“Our teams followed the required procedures while airport services cleaned up the spill.”
We apologise for the impact to our customers and have reaccommodated them on the first available services today.”
Initial reports suggested the aircraft would require extensive repairs and might be out of service for some time. However, Qantas has since confirmed the plane was inspected by engineers and cleared to return to service on Saturday.
