Emirates flight EK763 had to be diverted to Durban after a freak storm was reported, impacting the OR Tambo International Airport. Picture: Mthobic Wakwa-Khanyile Ngwane
A woman has praised Emirates staff for their professionalism after her flight was diverted from Johannesburg to Durban, following a recent severe thunderstorm.
Speaking to IOL, Rozelle Basson said this was the first time she'd experienced a diverted flight, despite travelling between China and South Africa frequently over the last six years.
"I was flying in for a short family visit on February 19. I departed from Beijing on an Emirates flight where I connected in Dubai the next day on flight EK763, on the majestic A380-800," she said.
Basson said it was a smooth eight-hour flight and as the plane was nearing the OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), the captain announced the weather with a note about possible rainfall later.
"Looking out the window as we descended for the next 20 minutes, I saw clouds and rain and didn't think much of it. The closer we got to the airport, it was raining heavily with thunder and lightning that we could hear from inside the plane. Suddenly we started accelerating and what felt like ascending again.
"At this stage I was a little confused, the little screen in front of me said 400+miles and 1hour to 'destination'. I thought we would probably just circle a few times. Then I saw the destination changing to Durban," Basson said.
She said she panicked for a moment because her parents had driven from Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal to pick her up at the airport.
"The pilot announced that we were diverting to Durban to refuel and wait for the weather to calm down then we would head back to Joburg. Luckily Emirates has WiFi on board so I was able to contact my parents and inform them. We landed in Durban at around 5.25pm. We refuelled and around 6.10pm, the captain again informed us that they have to complete some paperwork before we can return to Joburg," Basson said.
After 40 minutes, the plane began the flight back to ORTIA.
"This was a first experience for me, I've been flying between China and SA for almost six years now, I have experienced delayed flights and almost missed flights but never a diverted flight. I felt bad for the cabin crew as they had to work overtime to continue to serve us. Overall I think Emirates handled the situation well, all the passengers were calm," Basson said.
ORTIA confirmed that two flights had to be diverted due to bad weather.
“We had diversions due to weather on Tuesday afternoon/evening. The two flights that were diverted were Emirates and FlySafair,” a spokesperson for the airport said.
IOL reported that a freak storm wreaked havoc in the province earlier this week. In some areas, roofs were blown off, while other places reported flooding.
IOL