- A flight from Manila, Philippines, to Fukuoka, Japan, was extended to 11 hours after several hiccups.
- The flight originally couldn't land due to crowded airspace and was diverted to another airport.
Passengers on a three-hour flight from Manila, Philippines, to Fukuoka, Japan, had to endure an 11-hour round-trip journey after a series of unfortunate hiccups on the way to their destination.
The flight, run by the low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air, was carrying 125 passengers to Fukuoka Airport after departing Manila on Monday, the Japanese outlet The Mainichi reported.
Tracking data on Flightradar24 indicates that Flight 5J9 22 took off from Manila at about 3:15 p.m. local time.
The plane was due to land about three hours later in Fukuoka, which is an hour ahead of Manila, The Mainichi reported.
But local airspace was so crowded that they were told to circle the airport and try again, the outlet said, citing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism's Fukuoka office.
Due to concerns about the plane's fuel running out, Cebu Pacific Air's flight was diverted to an airport in Kitakyushu, a city about 37 miles away, The Mainichi reported.
Flight data indicated 5J 922 looped over Fukuoka several times before eventually diverting to Kitakyushu Airport, where it landed at about 8:30 p.m. local time.
Passengers were, however, unable to disembark at Kitakyushu due to issues with customs procedures, The Mainichi reported.
Soon after, pilots realized they couldn't make it back to Fukuoka on time because the airport there closes at 10 p.m., the news outlet said. The Fukuoka Airport enforces a curfew, allowing flights between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., since it's located next to residential areas, and authorities are concerned about the noise from take-offs and arrivals.
CEB923 ended up leaving Kitakyushu Airport at about 12:15 a.m. local time that evening for Manila, flight data indicates. By then, passengers and crew had already been stuck in the plane for close to eight hours.
Tracking data suggests the flight landed at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport about three hours later. This meant the three-hour flight had turned into an 11-hour ordeal, and the passengers didn't even get to their destination.
A passenger who took a video on the flight told the Japanese TV channel IT! that they were too desperate and exhausted to react by the time they landed back in Manila.
"This is my first experience. I just arrived in Japan, but I'm flying to Manila again," they told the outlet.
In a statement to Insider, Cebu Pacific Air said flight 5J 922 had to return to Manila after diverting to Kitakyushu on Monday evening.
When the passengers arrived back in Manila, the carrier provided them with hotel accommodation, meals, and a round-trip voucher to any international short-haul destinations, the statement said.
"They were also offered flexible options including rebooking their flight for free, storing the cost of their flight to a Travel Fund, or refund," the statement added.
Some passengers were also offered the option to fly with another airline, which they accepted, and the rest boarded a Cebu Pacific Air flight to Fukuoka that day, the airline said.
"We apologize for the inconvenience this situation may have caused," Cebu Pacific Air wrote. "We appeal for understanding as safety is our primary concern."