Malaysia's low-cost airline (LCC) AirAsia stated that the passenger flight, which was scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport, landed at Gimpo International Airport due to "safety reasons."
In a statement issued on the 14th, AirAsia explained, "This flight circled over the airport due to congestion caused by bad weather (heavy rain) and returned to Gimpo under the captain's judgment that additional refueling was necessary for safety."
It continued, "During this process, the captain's announcement was made, but confusion arose when the cabin crew incorrectly referred to 'Incheon Airport' during the landing at Gimpo," adding, "The captain then made a corrected announcement and an apology was also made."
Benjamin Ismail, CEO of AirAsia, said, "The diversion landing at Gimpo Airport was an unexpected situation due to bad weather in Incheon," noting that "we plan to provide travel vouchers to passengers on that flight."
Earlier, on the 13th, flight D7 506 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, heading to Incheon International Airport, arrived at Gimpo International Airport around 8:08 p.m. It is common to inform passengers via in-flight announcements when the arrival airport is changed, but it was reported that there was no proper announcement on this flight. The flight stayed at Gimpo International Airport for about two hours before taking off around 10:03 p.m. and arriving at Incheon International Airport around 10:56 p.m.