‘Even the crew didn’t know’: Confusion as AirAsia flight lands at wrong airport in South Korea

SEOUL: AirAsia is under fire after a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport landed at Gimpo International Airport in South Korea instead of its scheduled destination, Incheon Airport, news reports said on Thursday (Aug 14).

Originally set to reach Incheon at 7.50pm local time on Aug 13, AirAsia flight D7 506 reportedly touched down at Gimpo, 35km from Incheon, at 8.08pm after circling in the air.

According to passengers on the flight, after the captain announced they had arrived at Incheon, people stood up to retrieve their bags from the overhead compartments, but some looked out of the windows and checked their phones to find they were at Gimpo.

“Everyone panicked. It seemed the cabin crew didn’t know we had landed at Gimpo until passengers told them,” Lee Mi-hyun, a passenger in her 40s who was returning from a trip to Malaysia with her husband and eight-year-old daughter, told The Korea Herald.

“One crew member even said she needed to call her parents, who were waiting for her at Incheon International Airport.”

According to the Korea Airports Corporation, what caused the flight to divert to Gimpo was “turbulence” over Incheon Airport. The corporation added that the plane refuelled at Gimpo before departing for Incheon about two hours later at 10.17pm.

Lee noted that the crew failed to adequately handle the situation during the two hours before departure for Incheon.

“They appeared just as confused as the passengers. No water was offered and there was almost no food left on board, leaving passengers with children upset. Some even said they would rather get off at Gimpo before the plane departed for Incheon,” she said.

The captain and crew apologised over the public announcement system as the plane headed to Incheon, where it landed at 10.59pm, said Lee.

Some passengers criticised the airline for failing to provide a clear explanation of the situation.

“During the two hours before we departed for Incheon again, there was no clear explanation of what caused the landing error or any effort to reassure passengers,” another passenger surnamed Ryu, 39, told The Korea Herald.

AirAsia has not commented on the incident. – The Korea Herald/ANN