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Firefighters were called to Melbourne Airport on the weekend after an electrical fire broke out on the tarmac of the Qantas terminal.
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Staff at Melbourne Airport said the fire started on an equipment truck on the runway. Viewers from inside Terminal 1 watched in alarm as smoke engulfed a Qantas plane.
Operations remained as planned, with no flights interrupted or delayed as a result of the fire and resulting smoke.
Airport staff said that the fire was quickly brought under control, whilst Qantas confirmed that the plane and its surrounds were intact.
Qantas has had an unfortunate run of late, with a series of turnbacks and incidents putting the airline in the spotlight.
The airline was only recently voted the safest airline in the world, and its dedication to safety is why it has needed to turn around in the past.
Only last week Qantas CEO Alan Joyce released a statement applauding the airline’s pilots for upholding such high safety standards.
“Our pilots always err on the side of caution because that’s what we train them to do,” he said.
“If an onboard system isn’t working the way it should, they will often decide to land rather than pressing on to the destination.
“I congratulate them for doing that and encourage them to keep doing it. And despite the obvious inconvenience, I think most of our customers do, too.”
