The flight was originally scheduled to leave Sydney at 11am local time on April 7 and land in Singapore at 5.30pm. —THE STRAITS TIMES/ANN

SINGAPORE — A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight bound for Singapore turned around and landed at the airport in Sydney it departed from, about an hour after take-off on Sunday.

Flight SQ 232 landed at Sydney International Airport at 12.42pm local time, after a technical issue linked to its flaps was found, said an SIA spokesman in response to queries.

The Airbus A380 aircraft, which is 12 years and six months old, was carrying 474 customers and 27 crew members.

It was originally expected to leave Sydney at 11am local time and land in Singapore at 5.30pm.

In response to queries, the spokesman said the technical issue was resolved by engineers on the ground and the plane took off again for Singapore at 4.19pm local time.

It touched down in Changi Airport at 10.24pm - about five hours after its original arrival time.

“SIA sincerely apologises to all affected customers for any inconvenience caused,” the spokesman said.

He added that customers were provided with refreshments and all necessary assistance. — THE STRAITS TIMES/ANN