A Qantas Airbus A330 aircraft damaged a 20-metre section of Perth Airport’s runway 03 during takeoff on Sunday 15 September, forcing some international flights to depart without luggage to meet weight limits on a shorter runway.
Qantas flight QF71 from Perth to Singapore, operated by Airbus A330-200 registered VH-EBD, damaged runway 03 during take-off. There was a Silkway B748-8F due to land just after this incident. It was diverted to Adelaide. The Qantas flight continued without further incident and landed safely in Singapore.
The damage occurred on a recently resurfaced section, raising concerns about the quality of the repairs. Thirteen-year-old plane spotter Mitchell Booth captured the incident, where a slab of pavement lifted into the air.
Urgent repair works are underway at Perth Airport after a Qantas A330 tore up part of the main runway when taking off on Sunday.
The airport confirmed the main runway was partly operational on Sunday afternoon after Qantas flight QF71 damaged the runway as it took off around… pic.twitter.com/kTU2OZR167
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) September 15, 2024
Perth Airport is working on repairs, but it’s unclear how long they will take. Western Australia Premier Roger Cook has called for an investigation into the failure of this critical infrastructure.
