Passengers on board a flight from Perth to the northern Western Australian city say they texted loved ones “scared” after being told to prepare for an emergency landing yesterday.

Sinead Campion was traveling on Qantas flight QF1624 to Paraburda in the Pilbara with her 11-year-old daughter Lexi.

“When we were flying, we had a feeling of almost weightlessness: we seemed to go down and up, down and up again,” she said.

She said flight attendants soon began clearing the cabin and passengers were asked to practice the position of the struts.

“A little later we were told to prepare for an emergency landing,” she said.

“I was absolutely terrified.

Michael Bray was also flying with his young daughter.

“We were in the corset position for 15 to 20 minutes,” he said.

Calls for aircraft replacement

After attempting to fix mechanical problems, the pilots safely flew the plane to Geraldton, hundreds of kilometers from its original destination.

“Everyone was excited when we landed because we really expected to land in a field,” Ms Campion said.

Ms Campion praised the professionalism of the cabin crew but said the aircraft used on the route needed to be replaced.

“We need decent aircraft to fly from Perth to Paraburda and back,” she said.

Fokker 100 aircraft are currently in service on QF1624.

In a statement, subsidiary Qantas Network Aviation said the flight was diverted due to a mechanical problem with the autoflight system.

Qantas did not respond to ABC’s specific questions about whether the aircraft used on the Perth to Paraburdoo route would be replaced.

Passengers were flown from Geraldton back to Perth late yesterday and Qantas said they were offered a return flight to Paraburdah today.

“We understand this was an upsetting experience for those on board and we sincerely apologize,” Mr Bartlett said.

“We are in the process of communicating with all customers to ensure we can provide our support.”

Network Aviation said the pilots requested a priority landing at Geraldton and that it was not an emergency landing.