Flights are unable to land at Sydney Airport because of a fire caused by an engine explosion on a Qantas flight.

It’s understood the fire was started after an aircraft’s engine exploded on Qantas flight QF520 as the plane took off.

Passengers onboard the flight to Brisbane reported hearing a loud bang.

The plane circled and landed safely back at Sydney Airport with 174 people on board. No serious injuries have been reported.

All flights have aborted landing while Aviation Rescue and Firefighting responds to the incident along with Fire and Rescue NSW.

According to news.com.auQantas flight QF520, flying from Sydney to Brisbane took off just before 1pm. Passengers hear a loud “bang” shortly after. Reports state the plane circled Botany Bay before making its emergency landing.

Channel Nine producer Georgina Lewis was on board the flight and described the scary scene.

“We were taking off and we heard a bang just as we took off and one of the engines appeared to have gone. There was silence on board for a while, it felt like we weren’t gaining much altitude,” Lewis said via Channel Nine.

“The pilot came on about 10 minutes later to allay concerns re safety and to explain that they had a problem with the right-hand engine on takeoff and they had to shut it down for safety reasons.

“I’m assuming they then had to prepare everyone on the ground so we were circling Sydney over the water for quite some time until we were able to land, it appears on one engine, safely, with a lot of cheering from on board, I can tell you that.”

Lewis said it was a full flight and there were “cheers of elation on touchdown”, news.com.au reported.

“Fire trucks have been assessing the plane from the outside and we’re being escorted by them from the terminal,” she said.

“I can just see some emergency service vehicles around us, but when we came in for landing I could see a big line of smoke and we’re assuming that may have come from us, we don’t know on board.”

Huge smoke plumes could be seen from the airport’s terminal.

The Herald contacted Sydney Airport for comment. A spokesperson confirmed the emergency landing took place just after 1pm on Friday.

“Earlier today a Brisbane-bound flight made an emergency return to Sydney Airport, landing safely just after 1pm. This departure of aircraft coincided with a grass fire along the eastern side of the airport’s parallel runway, which was brought under control by teams from the Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service. It’s not clear at this stage if the two incidents are linked and investigations are continuing.

“With the safe arrival of the aircraft, Sydney Airport’s priority is to conduct a full inspection of its parallel runway and to return it to service as quickly as possible. Sydney Airport’s main runway is operational; however, passengers should also expect some delays and we thank everyone for their patience.

“Passengers travelling today are also encouraged to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight, or via the online flight information boards on Sydney Airport’s website.”

- additional reporting news.com.au