Flight CX341 from Shanghai was scheduled to land at Hong Kong International Airport at 7:30 p.m., but was delayed for more than seven hours.
“My butt left the seat at least three or four times as everything in my bag flew out,” one passenger wrote on Xiaohongshu, a popular mainland Chinese social media platform. “The word ‘bumpy’ cannot describe the feeling. The feeling of weightlessness was too great.”
She said the plane tried to land twice and some of the passengers started vomiting, screaming and crying.
“Two failed landing attempts. Glide to an altitude of 2,000 meters for the first time [6,561 feet], I thought I was going to die. “All the passengers on the plane started screaming and the children were crying so hard,” she said.
“The sound of vomiting echoed throughout the bumpy, shaky ride. The entire plane was filled with the smell of vomit.”
She said she believed the plane ran out of fuel and eventually diverted to Shenzhen Airport for refueling, landing safely in Hong Kong at 2:42 a.m. Wednesday.
“I never want to go through something like this again for the rest of my life…I hope everything is safe,” she said.
After landing, the pilot asked everyone to remain seated for an additional 10 to 15 minutes while paramedics boarded the plane to check on the victims, another passenger said.
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Glenn Devonport, the airline’s general operations manager, said in an internal memo that Tuesday night’s flight faced extremely difficult conditions, but that the crew handled the situation in a “calm and professional manner.” Stated.
“Weather stations were very active, with multiple lightning strikes and even hail reported as it passed over Lantau Island,” he wrote.
Some flights were delayed by about 15 minutes, and the high volume of arriving flights meant wait times quickly increased from 30 minutes to more than an hour, he said.
Devonport Airways added that 10 Cathay flights were diverted to other airports due to the aircraft running out of fuel and being delayed.
“After a long day of managing delays and largely avoiding the weather, it was a very long night for many of the team,” he said.
Paul Weatherilt, president of the Hong Kong Aircrew Association, said planes typically carry extra fuel when they may have to maintain a holding pattern or be diverted due to bad weather. Stated.
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“Pilots and flight attendants train and prepare for this type of event. But when weather like this actually arrives, there is always some kind of surprising effect that occurs. In reality, real-time operations “You can’t control it centrally,” he said.
“We hope to load up on additional fuel, designate a more distant detour and be ready to go. But it’s up to the pilots that night to come up with a plan that will actually keep everyone safe.” .”
A spokesperson for the airport authority said that 61 arriving flights and 33 departing flights were delayed and 12 flights were diverted to nearby airports on Tuesday night due to heavy rain and strong winds.
The observatory reported hail in the Pearl River Delta and residents were urged to evacuate amid “severe” winds.
The forecaster also said “violent” wind gusts of up to 100 km/h (62 mph) were reported in the city of Cheung Chau at around 9:45 p.m.
The Amber Storm Warning was issued at 9:30pm and lifted at 11pm.
