373 Passengers Trapped Aboard A380 for Nearly 12 Hours After Flight Diverts to Hangzhou

Caption: A social media post claims passengers are still stuck on Emirates flight EK302 for over 10 hours after it was diverted to Hangzhou yesterday night.

An Emirates flight from Dubai to Shanghai left 373 passengers aboard an Airbus A380 for nearly 12 hours after diverting to Hangzhou on July 22 due to rainstorms, with passengers reporting a faulty air-conditioning system and one person fainting.

Flight information showed that Emirates flight EK302 landed at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 9:04pm. It was originally scheduled to depart at 9:34pm, but remained on the ground through the night.

Videos posted by passengers showed people gathering near the aircraft door and demanding to leave. A foreign passenger was later seen fainting, and police arrived at the scene, according to social media posts. Passengers said crew members initially told them customs and border inspection authorities had not approved disembarkation.

An announcement around 6am today said the aircraft could not be opened until border inspection personnel arrived. Passengers began leaving the aircraft around 9am, according to Xiaoxiang Morning Post.

Caption: A social media post claims passengers are agitated as they are stranded on the plane.

Emirates' call center said today that its system did not yet contain information about the cause of the passengers' prolonged stay aboard the aircraft. The next flight was expected to leave around noon and take the passengers from Hangzhou to Shanghai, although the schedule could still change, the staff member said, according to the report.

Hangzhou airport staff said the aircraft's crew had exceeded their working hours after landing, requiring a replacement crew to be sent from Shanghai. Because Emirates' regular Hangzhou flights use Airbus A350s, the crew could not be transferred from another aircraft type. The replacement crew was also delayed on the road, and a subsequent aircraft fault caused further delays.

Airport ground staff had prepared support, but whether passengers could leave the aircraft depended on international-arrival border controls, not solely on the airport. Passengers on an international flight diverted to another city generally need approval from customs, border inspection and quarantine authorities, as well as valid entry documents. Emergency medical cases may receive expedited assistance.