Swarm of flying insects grounds flight in Tasmania

A close up of the current biggest commercial airliner in the world, Airbus A380 seen in Sydney, Australia on Feb 8 2009 when the A380s were new, having only been delivered for a few months. Ten years later, over 200 have been delivered worldwide.

Passengers leaving Hobart on board a Qantas plane had their travel plans temporarily delayed after an “insect infestation” grounded their flight.

A flight departing Hobart Airport just after 4pm to Melbourne was grounded when a swarm of insects descended on the runway.

A Hobart Airport spokesperson has said a replacement aircraft with engineers on board was flying to Hobart to inspect the grounded plane and would take stranded passengers on to Melbourne.

Passenger Melissa Sweet said the pilot on board the Qantas flight QF 1016 claimed it was only the second time he had “seen such a thing in 25 years of flying”.

Sweet shared her experiences of the unusual event on Twitter.

A Qantas spokesperson has confirmed the aircraft was given the all-clear after being inspected, with the flight departing “about four hours later”.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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