Virgin Australia flight 938 from Brisbane declared an emergency yesterday and diverted to Newcastle airport in New South Wales. Newcastle airport also doubles as Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base Williamtown.
Reports a Virgin Australia flight is making an emergency landing at Williamtown RAAF Base, Newcastle @abcnews @abcsydney
— Mark Reddie (@ReddieNews) February 1, 2019
News Ltd reports the flight left Brisbane at 10:00am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) and was due to land at Sydney at 12:40pm Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time (AEDT). The diversion happened about 90 minutes into the flight.
.@VirginAustralia flight lands safely after emergency landing at #Newcastle #airport A warning indicator light went off in the plane’s cargo hold. pic.twitter.com/bXRYhoTfHv
— Liz Farquhar (@lizfarquhar) February 1, 2019
Initial reports were that there was a fire in the cargo hold. Virgin Australia has since told media that “Virgin Australia flight VA938 from Brisbane to Sydney has landed safely after diverting to Newcastle Airport this afternoon following the activation of warning light in the cargo hold. The aircraft landed safely and was met by emergency services as a precautionary measure. The safety of our guests and crew is our number one priority and we will be commencing a full investigation into the incident. We will be working hard to have all guests to their destination as soon as possible.”
The 159 passengers were later taken by busses the remaining 174km (109 miles) to Sydney and arrived at 5:30pm AEDT.
Virgin passengers will now travel to Sydney by bus after the plane they were on made an emergency landing in Newcastle when a fire warning light activated. The plane, which is 14 years old, took off from Brisbane as VA938 and was due for Sydney at 12:40AEDT @9NewsSyd
— Nat Wallace N-A-T (@NatJohnWallace9) February 1, 2019