An aerobridge has rammed into the engine of a Qantas Airbus A380 at Sydney, causing an almost 24-hour delay for passengers heading to Johannesburg.
The footings of an aerobridge crashed into the top and bottom of one of the A380’s four engines ahead of the 15-hour flight to the South Africa’s largest city.
Qantas flight QF63 had been scheduled to depart at 9.30am on Saturday.
The service is now due to depart Sydney at 6.45am on Sunday.
Nobody was injured in the collision with passengers who had boarded the plane disembarking the A380 via its lower deck.
Qantas said it was investigating how the aerobridge collided with the plane.
‘The aircraft will be inspected by engineers in Sydney and repaired before returning to service,’ the airline said in a statement.
‘We know flight disruptions are frustrating, and we apologise to our customers for the impact to their travel.’
The footings of an aerobridge crashed into the top and bottom of one of the A380’s four engines ahead of the 15-hour flight to the South Africa’s largest city
Passengers will be provided hotel accommodation for the night.
The incident comes just months after a Qantas worker fell six metres through a gap in a damaged aerobridge, leaving her fighting for life.
Customer experience supervisor Olivia Hristovska, 51, suffered critical injuries when she hit the tarmac on May 3, with video showing she appeared to be looking through viewing windows in the wall of the aerobridge when she stepped into the floor gap.
She suffered life-threatening head injuries, a fractured spine, broken clavicle, collapsed lung, and had been placed in an induced coma by doctors.
Ms Hristovska’s daughters Monique and Sienna have revealed this week they found out about their mother’s accident via doctors and the media, claiming that Qantas did not inform them of the incident.
Monique also revealed her mother has now been discharged from hospital a month on from the fall, but is still suffering life-changing effects.
‘Bones can heal, but the brain… you don’t know. She’s lost her identity,’ she said.
The two daughters are currently acting as full-time carers for their mother.
The incident comes just months after a Qantas worker fell six metres through a gap in a damaged aerobridge, leaving her fighting for life (pictured)
Customer experience supervisor Olivia Hristovska, 51, suffered critical injuries when she hit the tarmac on May 3 (the gap in the aerobridge is pictured)
Monique, 27, previously told Daily Mail she hadn’t left her mother’s side since the accident, and revealed its devastating consequences.
‘We feel it’s important the full human impact of this incident is understood,’ she said.
‘Not just the event itself, but the long-term effects on her body, mind, and our family.’