A Qantas flight from Adelaide to Perth was forced to turn around mid-air on Monday due to incomplete paperwork.

Adelaide Airport confirmed flight QF887 departed for Perth at 3:35pm and almost made it to the Nullarbor near the West Australian border before it circled back over the Great Australian Bight, landing back in Adelaide at 6:50pm.

The flight departed again to Perth at 7:30pm.

A Qantas spokesperson confirmed there were no technical issues with the plane, and the delay was due to incomplete paperwork by the airline's staff.

"Once paperwork was finalised after engineering sign-off in Adelaide, the flight departed for Perth and landed four hours after the scheduled arrival time," the spokesperson said.

Turnbacks not uncommon

It comes after a series of Qantas planes were turned around mid-air in the past week, including a flight from Sydney to Fiji after pilots received a warning about a potential mechanical issue.

It also comes six days after a Qantas flight from Auckland to Sydney issued a mayday call after one engine failed mid-flight. 

The mayday call was downgraded to a PAN (possible assistance needed) and the plane landed safely.

In a statement on Friday, Qantas Domestic and International chief executive Andrew David said diversions and air turnbacks happen every day for a range of reasons across aviation.

"They usually reflect an abundance of caution and that's why flying is such a safe way to travel," Mr David said.

"People can be assured that aviation is built on safeguards, and one of those safeguards is that if something isn't right, we take a conservative approach to the problem rather than pressing on."

According to the company, Qantas averages about 60 air turnbacks per year out of more than 10,000 turnbacks across the total industry.