Kate Middleton and Prince William‘s Pakistan visit just took a detour. The British royals’ plane carrying them to the country’s capital, Islamabad, on October 17 was forced to turn around and head back to Lahore as a terrifying storm struck. The plane was in the air for over two hours for a flight that was supposed to take 25 minutes. The plane was unable to land at the Pakistani Royal Air Force base, as well as a commercial airport, causing the pilot to make the decision to turn back around. The Duke of Cambridge, a former air ambulance pilot, asked the royal press corps reporters with them on the plane if they were okay after hitting heavy turbulence, joking that “I was flying!”
Kate, William, and the rest of the passengers and crew all landed safely and unharmed back at the airport in Lahore, and were awaiting the storm to pass so they could head out to Islamabad again. “The @royalairforce plane carrying Prince William & Kate just had to abort its landing in Islamabad in a fierce storm After much shaking around in the air, the RAF Voyager used for #royalvisitPakistan turned around and has just landed back in Lahore (where we started),” ITV NEWS Royal Editor Chris Ship, who was on the plane with Kate and William, tweeted. While the plane’s passengers and the royal press corps were “looking a little shaken,” Kate and William seemed “fine.”
People magazine’s chief foreign correspondent Simon Perry, also on the plane, tweeted, “Phew. Landed! But in Lahore. A terrifying electrical storm hit as we tried to land at Islambad. Lightning seemed to be crashing around the right wing. Despite the best efforts of the pilot William and Kate’s RAF Voyager plane we couldn’t land there.”
If I’m honest … that was the most nervous I’ve ever felt in a plane 😬 ✈️ #RoyalVisitPakistan https://t.co/lPPmYtsiYt
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) October 17, 2019
Phew. Landed! But in Lahore. A terrifying electrical storm hit as we tried to land at Islamabad. Lightning seemed to be crashing around the right wing. Despite the best efforts of the pilot of William and Kate’s RAF Voyager plane we couldn’t couldn’t land there.
— Simon Perry (@SPerryPeoplemag) October 17, 2019
This story is still developing. HollywoodLife will keep you updated as more information becomes available. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have not commented on this incident as of press time.