The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Flight chaos: Plane struck by lightning and others diverted amid severe Queensland storms
One plane had to turn around to check for damage while others were diverted to regional airports.
A Virgin Australia domestic service was diverted to Brisbane after being struck by lightning while en route to Mackay, with the aircraft turning sharply near Bundaberg before 7pm.
Passengers said the crew indicated the flight could have continued to Mackay, but engineers needed to inspect the aircraft as a precaution. They noted only one engineer in Mackay who would have been unable to clear the plane for further flight.
The diverted Virgin Australia service arrived back in Brisbane and passengers were reassigned to a new aircraft, reaching Mackay just before midnight.
Across southeast Queensland, severe storms led to multiple diversions and unscheduled landings at regional airports. Rockhampton Regional Airport became a hub for disrupted services, with Qantas flights diverted from Brisbane and Cairns.
Earlier, a Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 made an emergency landing in Rockhampton after fumes were reported in the rear cabin, with emergency crews meeting the aircraft on the runway.
Passengers stranded at Rockhampton were kept at the airport for several hours before a later Singapore Airlines flight collected them for a departure to Singapore. Airlines reported continued adverse weather affecting services.
Forecasters from the Bureau of Meteorology warned that storms were expected to persist in Queensland, contributing to ongoing disruption the following day.