A Qantas flight has made an emergency landing at Sydney Airport following what the airline's engineers confirmed was a contained engine failure on a flight to Brisbane.

Earlier this afternoon, the aircraft landed after a loud bang was heard following take-off.

An airport spokesperson said the Qantas flight QF520 from Sydney to Brisbane landed safely just after 1pm.

"After circling for a short period of time, the aircraft landed safely at Sydney Airport," a Qantas spokesperson said.

"Our pilots are highly trained to handle situations like this and the aircraft landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted.

"We understand this would have been a distressing experience for customers and we will be contacting all customers this afternoon to provide support."

The airline said a preliminary inspection of the engine by its engineers confirmed it was a "contained engine failure".

Fire and Rescue confirmed a grassfire near the airport's third runway was now contained but could not clarify if it was sparked by the emergency landing.

"That fire was not unexpected was pushed around by some wind in and around that area," Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said.

Superintendent Dewberry said it was a multi-agency effort, with the response lead by AFP officers.

'Plane seemed to labour to get off the ground'

ABC journalist Mark Willacy was on board the flight and said a "sharp shudder" went through the aircraft after the explosion.

"It was apparent something had happened with one of the engines, then the plane seemed to labour to get off the ground or get any altitude," he said.

"That's when the pilot came on about 10-15 minutes into the journey and he said that there'd been a major problem with the right engine, that everything was under control at that point, but we'd have to go back to Sydney."

All other aircraft at Sydney were put into a ground stop at the time while the Qantas flight circled and prepared to land.

The Qantas flight was followed down the runway by several Aviation Fire and Rescue appliances.

A number of aircraft waiting to take off had to return to the terminal to refuel, with resulting delays of over an hour on departing flights.

Airport service crews checked the length of the runway for any debris before flights could resume.

Passengers told to expect delays

Sydney Airport said the main runway was operational but that passengers should expect some delays.

"With the safe arrival of the aircraft, Sydney Airport's priority is to conduct a full inspection of its parallel runway and to return it to service as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said.

Passengers who are travelling today are also encouraged to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight, or via the online flight information boards on Sydney Airport's website.