The Albury to Sydney flight was cancelled mid-afternoon after hitting three galahs on entry into Albury earlier in the day.

A total of 19 passengers were unable to be found a replacement flight on Saturday.

"As per standard operating procedures, the aircraft was reviewed by an engineer, who found the aircraft not to be serviceable," a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.

"The majority of passengers were re-accommodated on another flight this afternoon.

"Remaining passengers will be re-accommodated on a flight tomorrow morning.

"The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is always the highest priority."

An engineer had to travel from Sydney to assess the plane for any major damage, leading to its grounding in the afternoon.

One passenger who contacted The Border Mail said: "Passengers left stranded and devastated as many miss important connecting flights with an $8 food voucher for a five hour wait."

In 2014, a Virgin Australia plane was grounded indefinitely due to a bird strike.

In the same year, pilots landing in Albury were warned about the increasing threat of hitting an ibis with four bird strikes reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The airline expects the damaged plane to be back in the air on Sunday.

Border Mail