FOUL SMELL ON FLIGHT: Qantas Perth flight diverts, leaving passengers stranded

Travellers on a late-night Qantas service were left scrambling for hotel beds in Adelaide after a mechanical smell detected on board forced the Perth-bound flight to make an unscheduled landing in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The drama unfolded aboard flight QF85, operating from Canberra to Perth, when the aircraft was diverted to Adelaide Airport — touching down just after 1am, well outside the airport's standard curfew hours.

Given the timing, a priority landing was issued to get the aircraft on the ground as quickly as possible.

Passengers then faced an unwelcome choice: spend what the night in the terminal lounge or accept hotel accommodation arranged by the airline before attempting to complete their journey west at first light.

Some opted to stay put in the lounge, catching whatever sleep they could manage in the terminal before the sun came up. Others took Qantas up on the hotel offer, getting a few hours of proper rest before making their way back to the airport.

Either way, nobody was getting to Perth as they had planned.

A replacement aircraft, Qantas flight 883 was eventually used to complete the journey, finally delivering passengers to Perth Airport at 7.53am Saturday, the better part of a night's delay behind them.

For travellers who had boarded in Canberra expecting a routine overnight hop to the west coast, the unscheduled stopover in South Australia will have made for a long and frustrating night.

Qantas moved quickly to acknowledge the disruption and extended an apology to those caught up in the delay.

"We know that this would have been a frustrating experience for our customers and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience," a Qantas spokesperson said.

"Passengers have been reaccommodated on flights this morning from Adelaide to continue their journey to Perth."

The airline did not elaborate publicly on the nature of the mechanical smell that triggered the diversion.

However, the decision to seek a priority landing and reroute the aircraft rather than continue to Perth suggests crews were not prepared to take any chances with the unexplained odour on board.

Diversions of this kind, while disruptive for passengers, are standard aviation safety practice. Crews are trained to treat any unusual smell or indicator as a potential concern until it can be properly assessed on the ground.

For the bleary-eyed travellers who eventually touched down in Perth on Saturday morning, several hours late and a city further along than planned, the ordeal at least ended without incident.

Qantas has been contacted for further comment on the cause of the mechanical smell.