A Sydney-bound Qantas flight from Bangkok returned to the Thai capital because of an engine fault on the Boeing 747, a spokesman said Wednesday, dpa reported.
"One of the engines was consuming fuel more quickly than normal," Australia's AAP news agency quoted a Qantas spokesman as saying. "Following procedure they took the precautionary decision to return to Bangkok to have the engine inspected."
The engine will need to be replaced, so the 352 passengers will have to wait until a replacement plane arrives from Sydney.
Tuesday's incident came just hours after a Qantas Boeing 737 flying between Adelaide and Melbourne plunged 8,000 metres after cabin pressure was lost owing to a failure in the air-conditioning system.
The plane landed safely in Melbourne but passengers were put into a panic after the steep dive and the unnerving experience of oxygen masks falling from the ceiling.