A Qantas flight from Santiago, Chile, to Sydney had to be diverted to Newcastle Airport on Saturday with passengers spending the night at the airport as thunderstorms swept the NSW capital.
Passengers took to Twitter to share their frustration at having to spend the night at Williamtown, which is not set up to cater for Boeing Dreamliner 787s.
"Storms in Sydney last night impacted a number of airlines and required some domestic and international flights to divert to other airports - this included our flight from Santiago to Sydney which diverted to Newcastle," a Qantas spokesperson said.
"We understand that this would have been a frustrating experience for our customers and an uncomfortable night, and we thank them for their patience and understanding of the impact the storms had on flights into Sydney."
Sydney Airport closed by summer storm and @Qantas QF28 was coming into land, but waved off and diverted to RAAF base in Newcastle.#qantas #sydneystorm @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/nNeagJMUkk
— VibbleVobble (@VVoble) February 18, 2023
The plane eventually made it to Sydney about 10am on Sunday.
Passenger John Myers told the Sydney Morning Herald it was the bumpiest flight he had ever experienced, with one crew member describing it as "extreme".
"A lot of us have been on flights that were bumpy, but that was on another level," Mr Myers said.
"Some people were holding hands and a few people were gripping on tight, there were a few gasps, but no screams. By and large people kept their cool."
Santiago to Sydney on QF28 diverts to Newcastle for a sleepover! We were stuck on the Newcastle tarmac for 7 hours after the 14 hour flight from Chile. pic.twitter.com/4GhuIO3rsr
— mediawisemelbourne (@mediawisemelb) February 18, 2023
More than 60,000 homes and businesses were left without power and an international sailing tournament had to be cancelled after the wild storms hit Sydney.
The Newcastle Jets were also impacted by the weather, with lightning strikes forcing play to be stopped twice in their A-League Men clash against Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Stadium.
The Jets were leading 1-0 when players were called off the pitch at the 14-minute mark in Saturday night's clash.
A mandatory 30-minute break ballooned out to 95 minutes due to more lightning strikes. The small crowd expressed their delight when the game got underway again but their joy lasted just 12 minutes, with more lightning strikes forcing referee Stephen Lucas to call the players off once more. Play resumed for a second time following a 32-minute break.
"It was crazy. I've never been involved in something like that," Jets co-captain Carl Jenkinson said.
