Virgin apologises for Tamworth mechanic issue that left crew locked out of plane

On Friday, Sydney-bound Virgin Australia flight VA1148 was grounded all day at Tamworth airport.

A Virgin spokesperson said there was issue with the door to the flight deck.

“[The flight] was delayed this morning due to an engineering issue, which required an engineer to fly interstate to address the problem,” they said.

“All guests have been booked on an alternate service which is due to depart this afternoon.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

A member of the Tamworth airport ground staff said it was like the Virgin crew had essentially “locked the keys in the plane”.

“There are a couple of ways they can lock the plane,” he told The Leader.

“They may have done a manual lock instead of automatically.

“Whatever they’ve done, they’re locked out of the plane. They haven’t had access to it all day.

“It’s the only plane that does the Virgin route between Tamworth and Sydney, so they’ll probably have to fly the engineers up on a Qantas flight.”