QF643 - Incident: Qantas B738 at Sydney on Mar 3rd 2025

A Qantas Boeing 737-800, registration VH-VZV performing flight QF-643 from Sydney,NS to Perth,WA (Australia), was climbing out of Sydney's runway 16R when the crew requested and was cleared to level off at FL130, the crew advised they would need to return to Sydney. Shortly afterwards the crew donned their oxygen masks and declared PAN PAN PAN reporting smoke on the flight deck. The aircraft positioned for an approach to runway 16R and landed safely about 15 minutes after departure.

A replacement Boeing 737-800 registration VH-VZG reached Perth with a delay of about 3.5 hours.

The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for about 8 hours, then returned to service.

The airline reported a technical issue prompted the return.