AirAsia flight from KL to Incheon lands at different airport, passenger says cabin crew 'just as confused' as them

*Update: The article has been updated with AirAsia's statement*

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia is under fire after a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport landed at Gimpo International Airport instead of Incheon Airport, where it was scheduled to land.

According to The Korea Herald, the flight, D7 506, was expected to land in South Korea at 7:50pm local time on Aug. 13 but it reportedly only touched down at 8:08pm.

Upon landing, the captain announced that they had arrived at Incheon Airport and passengers stood up to retrieve their bags from the overhead compartments.

However, some of the passengers realised that they had landed at Gimpo International Airport instead.

One of the passengers on the plane, Lee Mi Hyun, told The Korea Herald that the flight attendants appeared to be unaware of the situation until passengers told them.

"They appeared just as confused as the passengers," she said.

She added that one of the flight attendants, upon realising they had landed at Gimpo, said that she needed to call her parents, who were waiting for her at Incheon.

Diverted to Gimpo because of turbulence

Citing the Korea Airports Corporation, The Korea Herald reported that the flight had diverted to Gimpo due to "turbulence" over Incheon Airport.

The flight refuelled at Gimpo before departing for Incheon two hours later at 10:17pm.

Lee stated that many passengers were upset as "no water was offered and there was almost no food left on board".

She further added that some passengers had said that they would rather get off at Gimpo before the plane departed for Incheon.

Another passenger, surnamed Ryu, told The Korea Herald that "during the two hours before [they] departed for Incheon again, there was no clear explanation of what caused the landing error or any effort to reassure passengers".

According to Lee, the captain and crew apologised over the public announcement system as the plane headed to Incheon, where it landed at 10:59pm.

AirAsia responds

AirAsia released a statement on the incident:

"AirAsia X (AAX) confirms that flight D7506 from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Incheon International Airport (ICN) on 13 August landed safely at 10.54pm. The flight had diverted to Gimpo International Airport (GMP) earlier in the evening for refuelling following air traffic congestion at ICN due to adverse weather conditions.

Safety is our highest priority, and the captain acted in full accordance with standard operating procedures, including keeping guests informed of the diversion initially in English.

A miscommunication occurred in the cabin crew announcement upon landing, which the captain promptly clarified, confirming the diversion to Gimpo Airport due to adverse weather and refuelling.

The captain also apologised to guests for the inconvenience, reassuring them that the landing at Gimpo was to to refuel and that the aircraft will proceed to its original destination."

The CEO of AirAsia X, Benyamin Ismail, also said that this was an "unforeseen situation caused by adverse weather in Incheon".

He said AirAsia will review their internal announcements and onboard information-sharing processes to ensure "greater clarity in such situations".

He also thanked their "guests for their understanding and cooperation during this operational adjustment", which he said was necessary to ensure the safety of everyone on board.

He also said Air Asia X will be extending travel vouchers as a goodwill gesture and reaching out to the affected guests directly.

Top photo via Canva and Yonhap