The Post has learned that passengers on a Cathay Pacific flight from London to Hong Kong had to wait on the tarmac for five hours before being forced to disembark due to “technical problems.” The airline offered them an alternative flight a day later.
The leading airline apologized on Thursday for the canceled flight the previous day and said that the defective aircraft would be returned to Hong Kong without passengers on board after maintenance.
The incident came to light after a passenger on board flight CX250, which was scheduled to depart London’s Heathrow Airport for Hong Kong at 6.20pm UK time on Wednesday, described the situation to The Post.
The passenger, who asked not to be identified, said passengers were told there was a problem with the engine, but it was not until around 11pm that they were told to leave the ship because the problem could not be fixed.
As a result, all passengers had to go through immigration again to collect their baggage and were offered an overnight stay at the airport hotel by the airline.
The passenger who spoke to the Post said the delay was “annoying” because the flight cancellation meant she had to take the alternative flight scheduled for Thursday evening and therefore had to stay home from work on Friday.
Your rebooked flight is scheduled to depart at 6.20pm UK time on Thursday and arrive in Hong Kong at 2.05pm on Friday.
But according to Cathay Pacific’s website, the rescheduled flight will also be delayed by more than two hours. It will leave London at 8.50pm and arrive in Hong Kong at 3.54pm local time on Friday.
The airline said the delay of the original flight was caused by a “technical problem.”
“The safety of our customers and crew guides every decision we make,” it said. “We sincerely apologize to our affected customers for any inconvenience caused and thank them for their understanding.”
The company said it had regularly updated customers on the original flight about the situation and provided meals during inspection work.
