A Virgin Australia flight bound for Perth was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after departing from Melbourne on Monday evening after crew members reported an engine-related issue on board.
A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport said the Boeing 737-800 landed safely just before 6:50pm, with all passengers disembarking without injury or further incident, News.Az reports, citing the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Virgin Australia flight VA697 to Perth returned to Melbourne Airport this evening after the crew reported an engine issue,” the spokesperson said.
The aircraft had taken off at 6:05pm and remained airborne for 44 minutes before it was required to return and carry out the emergency landing.
Virgin Australia chief operations officer Chris Snook said the diversion was prompted by a technical issue. “We apologise to guests for the disruption and thank them for their understanding,” he said.
The aircraft will undergo a full inspection by engineers before being cleared to return to service. So far, there is no indication that the engine caught fire.
Firefighters and paramedics were deployed to Tullamarine Airport shortly after the landing, which a Melbourne Airport spokesperson said was consistent with standard emergency response procedures.
It comes two years after a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 was rerouted due to a midair engine fire.
The Melbourne-bound jet took off from Queenstown, carrying 73 people, when the engine fire forced an emergency landing. The plane landed safely at Invercargill Airport, about 200 kilometres from Queenstown.
Virgin Australia blamed the incident on “a possible bird strike”, the ABC reported at the time.
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