Cathay Pacific flights: Passengers trapped on plane from Los Angeles to Hong Kong for over 28 hours after 'black’ rainstorm warning
Passengers trapped on a Cathay Pacific flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong were trapped on the plane for over 28 hours.
The Boeing 777 with as many as 294 passengers on board departed Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at around 12:55 am on August 4 for what should have been a 13-hour transpacific flight. But flight CX-883 didn’t end up arriving in Hong Kong until 7:15 pm on August 5 – more than 28 hours after it first departed.
Passengers were stuck on the same plane, unable to deplane, and with limited food or drink after record-breaking rainfall prompted an unscheduled and very lengthy diversion. Hong Kong had issued a rare ‘Black’ rainstorm warning, which saw more than 13.8 inches of rain pour down on the territory in just a matter of hours.
By the time the Black warning had been declared, however, flight 883 was already in the air and heading towards Hong Kong. The pilots were close to lining up the aircraft for final approach into Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport, descending to around 5,000 feet, before abandoning the landing and entering a holding pattern off the Hong Kong coast.
Not long after, the pilots gave up on the prospect of trying to land in Hong Kong and diverted towards Taiwan, landing there instead. Once safely on the ground, passengers on board the flight say they were not allowed to deplane and were effectively held against their will while the crew waited for the weather in Hong Kong to improve.
In the end, the delay in Taiwan stretched on for nearly 11 hours, with only limited food and drink available onboard. The plane then eventually landed in Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific has not yet responded when approached for comment.
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