AirAsia blames bad weather after flight lands at wrong South Korean airport
Incheon-bound flight D7 506 landed at Gimpo airport on Wednesday, leaving passengers confused
The AirAsia flight that caused passenger confusion by making an unexpected landing at South Korea’s Gimpo International Airport instead of its original destination of Incheon International Airport on Wednesday evening made a safety-based “planned diversion” due to adverse weather, according to the airline.
Flight D7 506, which departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport earlier that day, had been scheduled to land at Incheon airport. However, after circling over Korean airspace due to bad weather, the flight instead touched down at Gimpo at 8.08pm, about 20km (12 miles) away from Incheon, causing confusion and inconvenience.
Videos taken on board showed a crew announcement stating the aircraft was short on fuel, describing the landing at Gimpo as an emergency measure while the captain assessed the possibility of flying to Incheon.
However, several passengers later told local media that the crew failed to manage the confusion effectively during the two-hour delay, citing the lack of a clear announcement or apology in Korean about the landing.
Even the cabin crew appeared “as confused as the passengers”. After remaining on the ground for about two hours, the aircraft departed Gimpo at 10.03pm and landed at Incheon at 10.54pm.
The Korea Airports Corporation confirmed that strong winds and heavy rain in Incheon’s airspace caused air traffic delays, prompting the captain to divert for refuelling. In a statement released on Thursday, AirAsia confirmed the diversion was a safety-based decision due to adverse weather and air traffic congestion at Incheon.