Cathay Pacific is getting some bad press for how it handled a recent diversion. While inclement weather is outside a carrier’s control, the way that airlines respond is important, and I don’t buy Cathay Pacific’s excuse…
Cathay Pacific flight diverts to Taipei over bad weather
This incident started on Monday, August 4, 2025, and involves Cathay Pacific flight CX883, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. The flight was scheduled to depart Los Angeles (LAX) at 12:25AM, and arrive in Hong Kong (HKG) at 5:45AM on Tuesday morning.
The plane took off from Los Angeles at 12:55AM, starting the long 7,260-mile journey to Hong Kong. The flight across the Pacific was routine, and then the plane began its descent to Hong Kong, reaching an altitude as low as under 5,000 feet.
Unfortunately the weather in Hong Kong wasn’t cooperating, though — on Sunday night the Hong Kong Observatory issued a Black Rainstorm Warning, and then on Monday morning, that was updated to an Amber Rainstorm Warning. Because of this, planes couldn’t land in Hong Kong.
So the crew made the decision to divert to Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE), located 501 miles away. After a total flight time of 15hr13min, the plane touched down in Taipei at 7:08AM.
The plan was to wait out the bad weather, refuel, and then make the journey to Hong Kong. However, that’s not quite how things played out… at least not any time soon.
Cathay Pacific 777 stuck on ground in Taipei for 11 hours
Where this situation gets bad is when it comes to how Cathay Pacific handled the diversion once the plane was on the ground. Unfortunately the weather in Hong Kong remained bad for a long time, meaning the plane couldn’t reach its destination for an extended period of time.
In the end, the plane stayed on the ground in Taipei for nearly 11 hours, until 6PM local time. During that time, passengers had to remain on the aircraft, and weren’t allowed to deplane. Passengers claim that the captain said that passengers would eventually be able to disembark, but that didn’t end up materializing, with the crew citing “insurance reasons.”
Passengers also had access to insufficient food and drinks. The initial crew stayed onboard the aircraft until the mid-afternoon, and then there was a crew change, with a new crew taking over around 4PM (it’s not clear if they were flown in from Hong Kong, or if they were rostered to work another flight out of Taipei).
Finally at 6PM the flight took off, landing in Hong Kong at 7:17PM. That meant the flight arrived around 13.5 hours behind schedule. In total, the journey from Los Angeles to Hong Kong took around 28 hours.
Admittedly we don’t know the full background on why passengers weren’t allowed to deplane, or why sufficient food and drinks weren’t catered. One would certainly hope that every effort would be made to allow passengers to stretch their legs, and at least not be hungry or thirsty during the delay.
In the United States we have the tarmac rule, whereby airlines have to allow passengers to deplane after an aircraft has been on the ground for three to four hours (depending on the type of flight). That would’ve certainly come in handy here.
It’s a bit puzzling to me that Cathay Pacific couldn’t do more, since Taipei is a major station for the airline. It’s not like the airline doesn’t have staff there, which makes this all the more disappointing.
An experience like this really borders on cruel for those in economy. The flight already left LAX around midnight, so I imagine most people boarded the flight tired as could be. And then they were subjected to a 28-hour journey.
Bottom line
Passengers traveling on Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles to Hong Kong had an unpleasant experience, after bad weather in Hong Kong necessitated a diversion. The plane ended up diverting to Taipei, where it spent 11 hours on the ground, before continuing to Hong Kong.
The problem is that the airline didn’t let passengers deplane, and also didn’t cater sufficient food and drinks. In the end, passengers spent around 28 hours on the aircraft, which is very unpleasant.
What do you make of this painful Cathay Pacific diversion?
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