Passengers flying from Los Angeles on Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 flight were stuck on the plane for 28 hours
Published on Sep 23, 2025 at 3:51 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Sep 23, 2025 at 3:51 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Passengers flying from LA to Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 were stuck on the airliner for a nightmare 28 hours after a weather-related issue.
What should have been a routine flight on August 4 became something of a nightmare, with the airliner not able to land at its destination airport.
Delays and a diversion culminated in the aircraft being forced to land in Taiwan, before it was finally able to land in Hong Kong.
The diversion and long 24-hour trip were the result of what’s known as a ‘black warning’.
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Why was the Cathay Pacific flight diverted to Taiwan?
The flight itself passed by without any issues.
It left Los Angeles at 07:55 UTC on August 4 and the flight duration was around 13 hours before it made its approach to Hong Kong.
But, as the aircraft approached, the captain was told the city was under a Black warning.
This meant there was 70mm of rain expected to fall each hour, preventing the Boeing 777 from landing.
Air traffic control held the flight briefly to see if the weather eased before it was diverted to Taipei in Taiwan.
After a flight time of 15 hours and 33 minutes, the Boeing landed at the airport.
Yet despite now being stuck for an undetermined amount of time, passengers were not allowed to get off the plane.
Passengers were stuck aboard the Cathay airliner
The passengers on board flight CX883 were kept on the aircraft and not allowed to disembark.
Cathay did not confirm why passengers were not allowed to disembark.
Eventually, the weather in Hong Kong did clear, and the aircraft departed Taipei airport at 10:00 UTC the next day.
In total, the Boeing was parked on the ground for 10 and a half hours.
By the time it had landed and passengers had disembarked, 28 hours had passed since it left Los Angeles.
Thankfully for those on board, the final flight to Hong Kong passed by without incident.
There was probably a mixed feeling of elation and relief as the passengers finally disembarked from the aircraft.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
