However, the long wait eventually exceeded the permitted flight duty period, according to reports by Shanghai media outlets that cited passenger accounts. The pilot “time out” meant a last-minute midnight crew swap, with Emirates scrambling to send new crew and pilots from Shanghai to Hangzhou to fly the A380. The new crew eventually arrived at Hangzhou International Airport at 4am. After 17 hours on the plane, passengers were assigned hotel rooms to rest and provided with bus and train tickets to Shanghai. But the airline said it was standard procedure to hold passengers after the diversion of an international flight to a third location to avoid triggering complex immigration procedures and fees.