Severe turbulence during a flight this week led to crew members on board being taken to hospital in Australia.
The incident occurred on a plane operated by Australian low-cost airline Bonza, flying across the state of Queensland between Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday (21 November).
The extent of the injuries and the exact number of people hurt has not been confirmed.
Tim Jordan, chief executive of Bonza, confirmed to The Independent that no customers were hurt.
“A flight from Rockhampton to the Sunshine Coast experienced unexpected and severe turbulence leading some Bonza crew members needing to be assessed at Sunshine Coast University Hospital,” he said.
Read more: What is turbulence and can it cause your plane to crash?
The priority “is always the safety of our staff and customers”, Mr Jordan added, stating that staff were able to return home the evening after the incident.
The mid-air fright caused the cancellation of a flight from the Sunshine Coast to Mildura, in Victoria, while the aircraft was assessed.
“Whilst turbulence is something that any airline can experience, and we followed procedures onboard, we will be undergoing a review and taking any learnings onboard. Our thoughts are with the customers and crew who are no doubt impacted by the events of yesterday. The aircraft has been thoroughly inspected and was back in operation the following morning,” said Mr Jordan.
Bonza is a new airline, having only started operations in January 2023. It has five aircraft in its fleet, according to Planespotters.net, and serves domestic and regional routes across Australia.
It’s not the only airline to have experienced severe turbulence this year.
In June, a British Airways flight from Singapore to London Heathrow hit such severe turbulence over the Bay of Bengal that the plane had to return to its starting point to check for possible damage. A mother-of-two described her terror after the plane was hit by the worst turbulence “in years” as it was flying at 30,000ft. She said it felt like she “fell out of the sky”.
Two months earlier, eight passengers and two crew members required medical assistance after severe turbulence struck a plane making its way to Portugal. The moment the turbulence first hit was caught on camera, showing people and food being thrown across the cabin.
