QantasLink aircraft catches fire at Sydney Airport

The QantasLink plane reportedly caught fire near the wheel area. Photo / Unsplash

A Qantaslink flight caught fire on Tuesday evening, forcing the evacuation of more than 20 passengers.

Passengers on board a QantasLink flight escaped a plane without injury after the plane caught fire at Sydney Airport.

Flight QF2265 caught fire shortly after landing from Lord Howe Island at 5.30 pm on Tuesday.

All 24 passengers were safely evacuated via a set of stairs at the front of the aircraft and airport operations were temporarily suspended.

No smoke made it into the cabin of the Dash-8 aircraft, as the fire broke out in the tyre area.

QantasLink CEO John Gissing confirmed the fire occurred near the tyres shortly after landing.

"Passengers on a flight from Lord Howe Island to Sydney were evacuated following reports of flames near the tyres after the aircraft had landed safely," Gissing said.

He acknowledged that the event would have been scary for passengers on board.

"We appreciate this would have been unsettling for passengers and we thank them and our crew for evacuating in a calm and orderly manner," he said.

After passengers were removed from the plane, Gissing said they were bussed to the terminal. Meanwhile, airport fire crews attended the scene.

Engineers would then inspect the aircraft to examine the cause of the blaze.

QantasLink is a regional brand of the Australian airline and flies to domestic destinations.

In August, a Qantas plane's takeoff was called off at Sydney Airport when an air traffic control tower received a report there was smoke and flames coming from the engine.

Flight QF91 from Sydney to Nouméa was still on the runway when the pilot was told about an issue with the starboard engine.

The plane was turned around and unloaded as a precaution, although Qantas said engineers who assessed the plane afterwards found no issue with the aircraft.