Passengers endure nearly 17-hour delay due to aircraft glitch in Cebu Pacific's Manila-Riyadh flight

More than 400 passengers of budget carrier Cebu Pacific bound to Manila from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia are stranded due to a technical problem of the aircraft that have delayed their departure for at least 17 hours now

In an advisory, the carrier said that flight 5J 741 remains on  the ground at the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh while maintenance work on the aircraft continues as of this posting.

The said flight was scheduled to depart the King Khalid Airport at 5:45 a.m. (Manila time) and arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 at 3:35 p.m.

"The new estimated time of departure of Cebu Pacific flight 5J741 from Riyadh is at 5:00 p.m. [10:00 p.m. Manila time], with estimated time of arrival in Manila at 7:00 a.m., on June 23, 2017," Cebu Pacific said.

In a separate text message, Cebu Pacific Director for Corporate Communications Charo Logarta Lagamon noted the problem was detected while the aircraft was conducting pre-flight checks in Riyadh.

She did not disclose what happened, or what kind of glitch was discovered during the pre-flight check up. "That's a long haul flight. What is important is that the passengers are able to fly safely," she said.

According to the airline, the flight has 432 passengers, including three infants.

"Those with a visa enabling them to exit the airport were transported to accommodations provided by Cebu Pacific, or their residences," it said.

"Those who were unable to leave the airport due to KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) visa restrictions were provided food and drinks by Cebu Pacific onsite representatives after special permission was obtained from local authorities due to the observance of the Holy month of Ramadan," it added.

Cebu Pacific apologized for the inconvenience the incident has caused its passenger.

"The safety of our passengers will always remain our top priority," it said. — VDS/KVD, GMA News