AirAsia flight lands at Gimpo due to turbulence, not error (update)
The airline clarifies flight diverted due to bad weather and refuelling, not navigational error
AirAsia has refuted claims that one of its flights mistakenly landed at the wrong airport, which initially headed towards Seoul, explaining that the pilot diverted to Gimpo Airport due to turbulence. The budget airline clarified that flight D7506 from Sepang to Incheon initially landed at Gimpo for refuelling because of adverse weather conditions.
AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismali stated that after completing all safety procedures, the aircraft subsequently continued to Incheon International Airport, where passengers disembarked.
Flight D7506 is scheduled to depart Sepang at 11.50am in Malaysia and arrive in Incheon around 7.50pm in South Korea daily. On Wednesday, August 13, the plane landed at Gimpo at 7.50pm, departed at 10.17pm, and arrived at Incheon at 10.43pm.
The confusion began when the captain announced the plane’s arrival at Incheon, but some passengers noticed they were actually at Gimpo, as reported by the Korea Herald and subsequently by other media outlets.
One passenger, referred to as Lee, gave an interview to the Korea Herald, stating that even the flight attendants were seemingly unaware of the change.
“The flight attendants didn’t seem to know we had landed at Gimpo until a passenger told them. One of them even said she had to call her parents, who were waiting at Incheon.”
Lee also criticised the airline staff for their lack of crisis management during the two-hour layover at Gimpo.
“They were just as confused as the passengers. There was no drinking water and barely any food left on board. Families with children were especially distressed.”
A passenger named Lee Mi-hyun echoed Lee’s sentiments and told the Korea Herald that the cabin crew seemed unaware of the landing at Gimpo until informed by passengers. Passengers were confused and did not understand the situation until an apology was made when the plane was en route to Incheon.
AirAsia attributed the confusion to a miscommunication in the cabin crew’s announcement upon landing, with the pilot quickly clarifying the necessity for the initial diversion. Both Incheon and Gimpo airports, approximately 40 kilometres apart, serve Seoul. AirAsia X operates the Airbus A330-300 on this route.
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