Passengers on a Qantas flight from Sydney to Perth were evacuated using slides after the Airbus A330 was forced to return when the cabin filled with smoke.
The airline said the plane returned to Sydney shortly after take-off because of a hydraulic problem.
In a statement, it also said the captain decided to evacuate the aircraft using normal exits and three emergency slides.
@Qantas well that was fun, turning out to be an eventful holiday. Cabin crew were fantastic pic.twitter.com/3Dki1gnXrq
— evilhomer (@EVILH0MER) December 14, 2019
One passenger, Ally Kemp, said on Twitter that the experience was "terrifying", adding: "Just had to evacuate my flight to Perth after engineering issues. Everyone had to exit the plane via slide onto Sydney tarmac after the cabin filled with smoke and the captain screamed evacuate."
Debbie Slade, the Qantas fleet safety captain, said that once the plane was on the ground, it was towed to the gate.
She added: "And once they're at the gate, I believe there was some indications of a mist inside the cabin. So the crew took the conservative option and agreed to evacuate the aircraft."
