More than 300 passengers found themselves stranded aboard an Emirates aircraft on the runway of an airport for over 10 hours, according to reports. The incident occurred when Flight EK302, traveling from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Shanghai, China, was forced to divert to Hangzhou due to severe thunderstorms on July 22.
The Airbus A380, known as the world’s largest passenger airliner, made a safe landing at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at around 9 pm local time. Despite being only 125 miles away from Shanghai Pudong International Airport by road, the passengers faced an unexpected ordeal as they remained stuck on the plane until approximately 7:30 am the next day.
Passengers expressed dissatisfaction with the uncomfortable conditions inside the cabin, where the air-conditioning system reportedly failed around 3 am. Many criticized the airline for providing limited information throughout the ordeal.
According to the South China Morning Post, Emirates crew initially intended to wait for improved weather conditions in Shanghai before resuming the journey. As the stop in Hangzhou was anticipated to be brief, immigration procedures were not promptly arranged for the 373 passengers.
Local Shanghai media reported that delays in allowing passengers to disembark were exacerbated by the necessary change of cabin crew due to exceeding the permitted flight duty period. After spending over 17 hours on board, including approximately seven hours in the air and another 10 and a half hours on the tarmac, passengers and crew were eventually permitted to leave the aircraft.
Emirates has issued apologies to the affected customers and stated that passengers were provided with meals, accommodations, and shuttle services to Shanghai. The Mirror has reached out to Emirates for further details.
