Hundreds of Australians and Americans were left stranded in the wrong countries after Australian airline Qantas cancelled multiple flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles due to myriad mechanical issues.
Between Saturday, August 3, and Monday, August 5, Los Angeles time, at least four flights between the two cities — two from Melbourne to Los Angeles, and two going the other way — had been cancelled.
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The flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne — QF94 — was cancelled on Saturday and Sunday evening, according to data from FlightStats. The flight is normally scheduled to depart at 10:40 p.m. PT. The previous night’s flight arrived nearly 14 hours late.
The Melbourne to Los Angeles flight — QF93 — was cancelled on Monday, August 5, and Tuesday, August 6, according to FlightRadar24. The latter flight was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, due to the international date line.
The flights are typically flown on an Airbus A380, which has the largest capacity of any passenger airplane. Qantas can seat up to 484 passengers in its configuration on the plane.
Katie Quirk was among the hundreds of Australian passengers stuck in Los Angeles, along with her husband Tom and their 18-month-old daughter Madeline. They were rebooked onto Sunday night’s flight after their Saturday flight was cancelled — and then left in the dark after the second flight was called off. They were eventually booked onto a flight departing Monday night and transiting through Sydney, which they were told by Facebook message from the airline.
