SHANGHAI, July 29 — Hundreds of passengers on an Emirates Airbus A380 flight from Dubai to Shanghai endured a 10-hour ordeal after bad weather forced the aircraft to divert to Hangzhou, where a series of technical and operational problems left them stranded on board.
The incident was reported by the South China Morning Post, which said the world’s largest passenger aircraft had arrived at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport last week as a rare sight for aviation enthusiasts there, but the diversion quickly turned into a lengthy disruption for those on board.
Emirates Flight EK302 was approaching Shanghai Pudong International Airport after around seven hours in the air when thunderstorms made landing conditions unsafe, prompting the crew to redirect the aircraft to Hangzhou.
The 373 passengers and crew members were eventually kept on the aircraft for 17 hours, with the time spent waiting on the tarmac exceeding the duration of the original flight from Dubai.
The crew initially planned to wait for weather conditions at Pudong to improve before continuing the journey, meaning immigration arrangements for passengers at Hangzhou were not immediately activated.
However, reports citing passenger accounts said the delay eventually exceeded the crew’s legal flight duty limits, requiring Emirates to arrange a replacement team to operate the aircraft.
Under aviation regulations, multi-pilot crews are restricted in how long they can remain on duty before they must rest and cannot begin another flight.
The replacement pilots and crew were sent from Shanghai to Hangzhou, but heavy rain slowed their journey and delayed their arrival until early morning.
While passengers waited, the aircraft’s air-conditioning system reportedly lost power, causing discomfort inside the cabin, with some passengers saying emergency services were called after several people felt unwell.
The new crew restarted the aircraft’s systems after arriving at around 4am, but further checks found additional technical issues that prevented the plane from taking off.
Passengers were finally told to leave the aircraft at nearly 6am, after spending about 17 hours inside the plane.
They were later provided with hotel accommodation and transport options to continue their journey to Shanghai, while the A380 remained grounded for two days before eventually returning to Dubai.
Emirates apologised over the disruption and said the delay was caused by a combination of factors, including technical problems and the need to arrange replacement crew.
The airline also defended its decision to keep passengers on board after the diversion, saying this was standard procedure for international flights redirected to another airport to avoid complicated immigration procedures and additional costs.
Hangzhou airport also faced criticism over its handling of the incident, with some passengers and observers questioning the communication between the airport and airline during the prolonged delay.
The episode highlighted the challenges of handling large international aircraft diversions, particularly when weather disruptions, crew regulations and technical problems occur at the same time.
