Qantas A380 makes forced landing in Sydney after 'engine oil leak'

Passengers on a Qantas flight have spent the night in emergency accommodation after an A380 super-jumbo had to make a forced landing at Sydney.

The Qantas flight spent several hours circling off the coast of Sydney after an engine problem over the Pacific Ocean forced it to make a U-turn.

Qantas flight 7 returned safely to Sydney after less than four hours into its flight to Dallas – one the longest commercial flights in the world.

More than 400 passengers were on board but had to spend the night holed up in hotels.

After three and a half hours in the air, pilots detected an engine oil leak and the captain made the call to turn around.

“He just said he had a problem with one of the engines he had to turn around and come back,” one of the passengers said after disembarking at Sydney.

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Another passenger told 7 News they “never felt turbulence or any craziness; everything was very comfortable and their taking us to our hotel”.

In a statement to Seven News Qantas said, "Engineers will examine the aircraft" and the airline expected “to have everyone on their way in the next 24 hours".

"The engine had some troubles," said another passenger, "but Qantas has stressed it's all about our safety".

In May another Qantas super-jumbo landed in Los Angeles after its engine shut down midair.