Virgin flight transporting miners to the Pilbara forced to circle Perth for two hours

The Virgin flight circled for almost two hours before returning to Perth Airport. Photo / FlightAware

A Virgin flight carrying miners spent almost two hours flying in circles near the Perth coast after facing a technical difficulty.

Flight VA9081 departed Perth airport at 9.15am AEST on Thursday and was bound for Boolgeeda airport in the Pilbara mining region.

The small airport services workers at the Rio Tinto mining company and the plane was carrying FIFO (fly-in-fly-out) workers.

A Virgin flight from Perth had to make an emergency landing. Picture: Flight Aware

The plane flew up along the Joondalup coast then turned in a circle while 5000 feet above the ground.

It then proceeded to continue flying in the exact same circle for almost two hours.

According to a Perth airport spokesperson, the Fokker F100 aircraft had experienced a technical issue that meant it lost flap control, reported WA Today.

Mika Bowron, a passenger on board, said the pilot's announcement about the wing flap caused anxiety.

"I thought of my kids, my family. I'm pretty scared of flying anyway," she told ABC News.

"Every time it would turn we'd go 'here we go again'," she said, adding it was a relief when they touched down.

The plane eventually landed at 11.19am AEST and was met by emergency services.

Passengers were booked onto the next departing flight.