1. Passengers stranded on tarmac for almost seven hours ‘without toilet paper or soap’
By ABC News
Passengers on a United Airlines flight stranded in Canberra for almost seven hours are now reboarding the plane to return to Sydney.
The UA863 flight from San Francisco was en route to Sydney but was diverted to Canberra due to debris on the runway.
The plane arrived in Canberra at 9:00am (AEDT) but passengers were unable to leave the tarmac because there were no customs and immigration facilities at the domestic airport.
“Until a request is received for formal border clearance, Customs and Border Protection is providing an area outside the aircraft in which passengers can get fresh air and stretch their legs without formally clearing the border,” a spokesman from Customs and Border Protection said.
The spokesman said it was up to the airline to decide whether passengers could disembark from a plane.
They were temporarily let off the plane and allowed to walk around and have refreshments, but have now been asked to reboard.
The 20 hours passengers had spent on board the plane included the flight and time on the ground in Canberra.
This post originally appeared on ABC News and has been republished with permission.