What was supposed to be a routine 13-hour hop across the Pacific turned into a 29-hour ordeal for almost 300 Cathay Pacific passengers, leaving some calling it the world’s longest commercial flight in terms of sheer misery.
Flight CX883 left Los Angeles at 12.55am (local time) on Monday, August 4, bound for Hong Kong. But as the 15 year old Boeing 777 descended to just 5,000 feet for final approach, the city was hit with a torrential downpour—more than 13.8 inches of rain in hours—triggering a rare black rainstorm warning, the highest-level alert, and the wettest August day since records began in 1884.
Forced to abort the landing, the pilots diverted to Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. But the relief was short-lived. Instead of disembarking, passengers were ordered to remain onboard for another 11 gruelling hours.
Viral footage posted by aviation engineer @mfahadnaimb on Threads showed the storm-battered flight map looping across Asia and weary passengers riding out turbulence.
“A lot of passengers were anxious and wanted to get off the plane. Dealing with complaints and requests for food and drinks made things even tougher for the flight attendants.”
Cathay Pacific has yet to explain why passengers were kept onboard, but travellers speculated about “second freedom” rules—international aviation laws allowing technical landings without permitting passengers to disembark—as well as insurance complications and the logistical headache of processing hundreds of international arrivals through Taiwanese immigration.
With crew hours expiring, the airline was forced to swap out pilots and cabin crew before the journey could resume. Passengers, meanwhile, endured dwindling food supplies, no fresh air, and the mounting frustration of being stranded on a stationary aircraft, reported the Daily Mail.
Finally, at 7.15pm the next day, Tuesday, August 5—more than 28 hours after departure—CX883 finally touched down in Hong Kong.
While weather delays are often unavoidable, critics have slammed the airline’s handling of the diversion, accusing it of failing to prioritise passenger welfare.
Cathay Pacific has not yet issued an official statement.
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