300 plane passengers land back at starting point after seven-hour nightmare journey in Japan

Around 300 plane passengers ended up landing right back where they started after a nightmare seven-hour journey in Japan.  

Japan Airlines’ flight JL331 was due to depart on a two-hour domestic flight from the Haneda Airport in Tokyo to Fukuoka. 

But after setting off, the plane was forced to return to Tokyo after a seven-hour round trip saw them almost reach their final destination – only to be told to turn back.

Flight JL331 was due to take off from Haneda at 6.30pm on Sunday, with a scheduled landing of 8.30pm in Fukuoka. 

A last-minute plane switch meant that take-off was delayed for 90 minutes, reported NDTV. 

Around 300 plane passengers ended up landing right back where they started after a nightmare seven-hour journey in Japan

But after setting off, the plane was forced to return to Tokyo after a seven-hour round trip (file image)

Fukuoka has a 10pm cut off point for commercial planes landing – and, once it was finally in the air, the flight was predicted to land with four minutes to spare. 

But other delays and high winds meant that JL331 was denied permission for landing as officials didn’t view the reason for the delay – the plane switch – as ‘unavoidable’.

There was no choice but to return to Tokyo. 

But the plane was redirected once again to Kansai International Airport near Osaka, where it landed at 11.59pm. 

At Kansai too, there were problems. A lack of staff and available transport saw another flight scrambled together for the exhausted passengers.  

Japan Airlines’ flight JL331 was due to depart on a two-hour domestic flight from the Haneda Airport in Tokyo (left) to Fukuoka (right)

The plane then took off once more at 1.56am from Kansai, landing back in Japan’s capital at 2.44am on Monday morning after a seven-hour nightmare journey. 

Japan Airlines has previously made headlines over their dietary options onboard their flights. 

Kris Chari, a vegan, was baffled after they were served a single banana for breakfast. For lunch, they were given ‘barely seasoned spaghetti’. 

MailOnline has contacted Japan Airlines for comment.