On Christmas Day, these Qantas passengers suffered a nine-and-a-half hour flight to nowhere

Passengers on two Qantas flights have suffered a Christmas Day to forget, as one plane never left the ground in Los Angeles, while it was a nine-and-a-half hour flight to nowhere on another. QF63 took off on Christmas Day from Sydney just before 10am (local time), bound for Johannesburg. The Airbus A380 was due to land in South Africa at 3pm on December 25, but about four-and-a-half hours into the flight it started to turn around near Antarctica. It landed back in Sydney after 7.30pm - nine hours and 36 minutes after taking off. The plane was met by emergency services as a precaution but were not needed. A Qantas spokesperson told Stuff Travel the U-turn was due to a “mechanical issue”. “The pilots followed normal procedures and returned to Sydney for the aircraft to be checked by engineers. Customers were reaccommodated on a service to Johannesburg yesterday (Thursday) and we want to thank them for their patience and understanding.” There was more trouble for Qantas passengers in Los Angeles.QF26 was due to leave for Melbourne on December 22, but travellers on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were forced to sit inside the plane on the tarmac for six hours before it was cancelled due to an hydraulic issue, according to Perth-based sports podcaster Will Schofield. Rebooked on the plane the next day, the flight was again cancelled just 30 minutes prior to departure, leaving passengers stranded in LA.<br/>