Victorian Governor Linda Desseau held up Qantas flight from Chairman’s lounge

The governor of Victoria caused a stir after she reportedly asked to board a Qantas flight earlier than other passengers – causing the flight to be delayed for being late.

Linda Dessau has reportedly requested that Qantas flight QF1518 from Melbourne to Canberra be ‘pre-boarded’ for other passengers on Wednesday morning, while en route to the National Monument to Queen Elizabeth II in Parliament House.

However, Ms Dessau was nowhere to be found for several minutes when she was supposed to board the plane – much to the amazement of other airline passengers who were anxiously waiting at the gate.

Flight attendants were eager to begin the boarding process when the line began to swell, but Qantas bosses were waiting for Ms. Dessau to be seated, witnesses said.

A passenger heard a Qantas employee say, “I called the Chairman’s Lounge a long time ago, but she just won’t come.”

Passengers lined up waiting for the VIP to board the plane, but she was nowhere to be found (above – a stock image)

Qantas customer Imre told Radio 2GB that he was standing in line to board the plane and had “never seen anything like” the episode.

“Everyone is there, the plane is there, all the passengers who were on board earlier had disembarked.

“The flight attendants seemed eager to get everyone on the flight, but when we were about to board they said ‘no, sorry, we have to wait for some VIP’.

“I felt sorry for the flight attendants. They sort of walked back and forth, peering down the hall to see if this VIP was coming.’

When Victoria’s Deputy Royal Representative finally arrived at the gate with her entourage, other passengers were unable to identify her.

“Finally, after 20 minutes, someone (who) didn’t seem to recognize anyone in line,” he told the show.

Ms Dessau waited for her flight in Melbourne Airport’s exclusive Chairman’s Lounge (pictured), as other passengers slammed into it at the gate

The passenger said that when all passengers actually boarded, they had to walk past Ms. Dessau while she was sitting in her business class seat.

“As people walked by, they said ‘who is (she)’, I’ve never seen that person before.”

“You might understand if everyone is on the plane and they held it for a few minutes because the VIP was late and they had to board it before it took off.

“But don’t let anyone on the plane before they get on first? I don’t know if it’s royal protocol or something…”

The flight managed to get away 14 minutes after its scheduled departure time, according to flight data.

In a statement to The AustralianIn the Margin Call column, the governor’s office insisted that she not dawdle in the president’s lounge.

Mrs Dessau was on her way to Canberra to attend the national memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II (above – Mrs Dessau talks to Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews during the service)

It has been reported that Ms Dessau somehow got lost in the terminal.

“Neither the governor nor her staff requested or expected passengers to be delayed boarding,” a spokeswoman told the newspaper.

“There was no delay as the Governor and her party left the lounge when they were asked to proceed to the gate.”

Daily Mail Australia has contacted both Qantas and the governor’s office for comment.

Ms Dessau is one of six Australian Governors who serve as the Crown’s representative in Australia.