SYDNEY, July 16 — Hundreds of Qantas passengers have been stranded in Singapore for more than two days after repeated delays to a Sydney-bound flight, worsened by earlier damage to another Qantas A380 in Sydney.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Flight QF82 was scheduled to depart Singapore at 8.45pm Monday and arrive in Sydney yesterday morning, but passengers were told to disembark before midnight. By 2.30am yesterday, they were informed the flight was cancelled and they’d be taken to hotels.

The delays triggered wider disruption. QF2, also bound for Sydney, was cancelled today, while QF81 from Sydney was delayed nearly six hours.

The report added that travellers booked on QF82 have been told they will depart at 12.30am tomorrow — over 50 hours late.

Qantas cited persistent mechanical issues with the A380. 

A note to passengers, sighted by The Sydney Morning Herald, reportedly read: “While our engineers are highly trained... the problem requires extended maintenance... the aircraft will not be able to operate at the revised departure time.”

A replacement aircraft is now expected to operate the flight. Qantas offered hotel accommodation and reimbursement for meals and other expenses.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the delays follow an aerobridge incident in Sydney on Saturday that damaged another A380, limiting Qantas’ recovery options. The airline now operates 10 A380s, down from 12 before the pandemic.

The disruptions come as Qantas works to repair its image. 

Once ranked 24th globally, it rose to 14th this year and was recently named the second-safest full-service airline by Airlineratings.com.

Though Airbus ceased A380 production in 2021, Qantas plans to fly the superjumbos until 2032.