A Wallabies fan who was on board a tumultuous transtasman flight plans to down “400 beers” after enduring a mid-air mayday emergency.

Emergency services were called to Auckland International Airport at 11.05am after the pilot on board Qantas flight QFA141 made a mayday call an hour into its journey from Sydney.

The plane, a Boeing 737, has since landed and the 156 passengers have disembarked. Ambulance staff treated two patients in minor condition but did not need to take them to hospital.

Passengers spoke to the Herald, sharing the moment they were told something was wrong.

Two nervous passengers from Auckland revealed the pilot broadcast there was an urgent issue, with smoke or heat present on board.

“Flight attendants were rushing up and down the aisle,” passenger Fuschia Bituniwaidranu said.

Her partner, Mitchell Greenaway, said a meeting was called for staff halfway through the food service and then the pilot made an announcement.

“There was a blinking light on his dashboard that signalled heat.”

They were told there was some smoke or heat present in the aircraft.

Fuschia Bituniwaidranu and Mitchell Greenaway, both 19, were on board a flight from Sydney to Auckland when the pilot made a mayday call. Photo / Cherie Howie

“We were nervous, but we were close to home... that’s what kept me having faith,” she said.

The pair praised the way the airline handled the emergency.

Bituniwaidranu said they were in the air for half an hour before they knew what the emergency was.

Greenaway described the landing as “rough and short”.

The couple said they thought it appeared crews were looking for something flammable in an overhead compartment during the flight.

Australian Troy Balzan, who was an economy passenger, said he heard there was a smoke alarm that had gone off in the cargo bay.

Australian Troy Balzan was an economy passenger on the transtasman Qantas flight QFA141. Photo / Cherie Howie

He said he wasn’t nervous and the staff were very calm.

Balzan said he was set to have “400 beers” while he catches up with a friend this afternoon.

A Qantas spokesperson confirmed a mayday call was issued by the pilot because of intermittent flashing of the cargo hold fire indicator.

The spokesperson said preliminary investigations report there was no fire in the front cargo hold.

Around a dozen ambulances wait at Auckland Airport after an inbound Qantas flight from Sydney sounded a mayday call.

“Our engineers will inspect the aircraft to determine the cause.”

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said 16 fire trucks responded to the incident.

The impacted flight left Sydney this morning and landed about 11.47am at Auckland.

Auckland Airport confirmed emergency services were on standby this morning for an inbound aircraft that had reported issues.

“The airfield is now returning to normal but there may be some slight delays for departing and arriving flights,” said a spokesperson.