At no time were the 197 passengers and crew of a Qantas jet in danger when it was forced back to Sydney due a landing gear fault, the airline says.
Flight QF129 bound for Shanghai departed Sydney Airport about 11.30am (AEDT) on Thursday, but ran into difficulty soon after takeoff.
The pilot was unable to retract the landing gear of the Airbus A330, forcing him to circle over the Tasman Sea for more than three hours.
Excess fuel had to be burned off to ensure the plane was below its maximum landing weight.
"This was not an emergency situation or landing - at no stage was there any safety issue," head of corporate affairs David Epstein said in a statement.
"Passengers were kept informed by the captain and a meal service provided."
The aircraft landed without incident about 3pm before a replacement aircraft departed for Shanghai at 4.30pm.
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