The flight, D7 506, was scheduled to land at Incheon International Airport but instead arrived at Gimpo International Airport, about 20 km (12 miles) away, on the evening of Aug. 14, Korea Herald reported.

The flight had initially circled over Korean airspace due to bad weather, but after a delay, it landed at Gimpo at 8:08 p.m.

Passengers were reportedly confused when the captain announced they had arrived at Incheon. Many had started retrieving their bags from overhead compartments, only to realize they were at the wrong airport after looking out of the windows or checking their phones, the South China Morning Post reported.

Passengers later criticized the airline for failing to effectively manage the confusion during a two-hour delay.

Several said the crew made no clear announcement or apology in Korean about the situation.

One passenger told The Korea Herald“There was no clear explanation of what caused the landing error, nor any attempt to reassure passengers.”

After remaining on the ground for about two hours, the flight departed Gimpo at 10:03 p.m. and landed at Incheon at 10:54 p.m. the same day.

In a statement, AirAsia X clarified that the diversion to Gimpo was due to air traffic congestion at Incheon caused by adverse weather, Korea Times reported.

The airline explained that the captain followed standard procedures and initially informed passengers of the diversion in English. However, a miscommunication occurred during the cabin crew announcement upon landing, which the captain later addressed.

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail assured that the airline would review its internal communication procedures and announced that travel vouchers would be offered to affected passengers as a goodwill gesture.