AirAsia faces backlash after KL flight lands at wrong airport in South Korea
Flight D7 506 was due to arrive at Incheon at 7.50pm local time on Aug 13, but instead touched down at Gimpo, about 35km away, at 8.08pm after circling in the air.
SHAH ALAM – AirAsia has come under fire after a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) landed at Gimpo International Airport instead of its scheduled destination, Incheon International Airport, South Korean media reported on Thursday (Aug 14).
Flight D7 506 was due to arrive at Incheon at 7.50pm local time on Aug 13, but instead touched down at Gimpo, about 35km away, at 8.08pm after circling in the air.
Passengers said confusion broke out when the captain announced they had arrived at Incheon.
Many stood up to retrieve their luggage, only to notice through the windows and confirm via their phones that they were at Gimpo.
“Everyone panicked. It seemed the cabin crew didn’t know we had landed at Gimpo until passengers told them.
“One crew member even said she needed to call her parents, who were waiting for her at Incheon,” said Lee Mi-hyun, a passenger in her 40s who was returning from Malaysia with her husband and eight-year-old daughter.
The Korea Airports Corporation attributed the diversion to turbulence over Incheon Airport, adding that the aircraft refuelled at Gimpo before departing for Incheon nearly two hours later, at 10.17pm.
It landed at Incheon at 10.59pm.
However, passengers criticised the airline’s handling of the incident.
Lee said the crew appeared “just as confused” as passengers, failed to offer water and had little food available, leaving families with young children upset.
Some passengers even considered disembarking at Gimpo.
Another passenger, Ryu, 39, said there was “no clear explanation” for the landing change or reassurance from the airline during the two-hour wait.
The captain and crew later apologised over the public announcement system en route to Incheon.
AirAsia has yet to comment on the incident.
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