The wide-body Airbus aircraft had been scheduled to arrive at Heathrow Airport at 6.15am (GMT) on Friday after leaving Singapore’s Changi Airport just after midnight.

The QF1 was nine hours into the 13.5 hour flight when it was forced to turn around above Tbilisi, Georgia.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport has one of the longest runways in the region and often hosts unsuspecting aircraft when forced to make emergency landings.

It’s not yet known how long the A380 will remain in Baku but passengers may face more delays upon arrival at Heathrow as UK Border Force officers are currently in the midst of a strike over pay and conditions.

UK Border Force chief operating officer Steve Dann said he couldn’t rule out closures after the onset of Friday’s strike and warned travellers to expect disruptions. About 1000 Border Force staff have committed to striking every day from Friday (Saturday EST) to the end of the year, except for December 27.

“We have a reasonable expectation that by using a contingency workforce we will be able to deliver a service that keeps most, if not all, ports open. However, the general public should expect disruption,” Dann said on Thursday.

The airline was forced to ground its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has stored them in the Californian desert for the better part of two years. Qantas is now close to returning the fleet to service now the demand for travel has returned with the exception of 2 A380s that will be retired.

With Nigel Gladstone

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