A Qantas flight from Queenstown to Sydney was forced to divert to Christchurch on Saturday afternoon after a suspected engine issue caused flames to appear from the aircraft's left engine shortly after takeoff. Passenger Liza-Jayne Loch described a bang shaking the cabin, flickering lights and screaming as flames were repeatedly visible from her seat, though she took some comfort in knowing modern jets can land safely on one engine.

Flight QF122, a Boeing 737, landed safely in Christchurch roughly 52 minutes after departure, with both engines believed to have remained operational throughout. Qantas dispatched two engineers to investigate the cause, while affected passengers were accommodated overnight near the airport and flown to Sydney on a complimentary replacement flight the next day. A Qantas spokesperson praised the pilots' training and said the airline would contact all customers to offer support after what it acknowledged was a distressing experience.