TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Travelers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport quarreled with ground staff as they had to wait more than two hours for their luggage to arrive from a China Airlines (CAL) flight during Typhoon Gaemi, reports said Saturday (July 27).

Flight CI153 from Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, was scheduled to arrive in Taoyuan Thursday (July 25) afternoon, but delays due to the typhoon caused it to land at 2:44 a.m. Friday (July 26), the Liberty Times reported. As the passengers had to wait more than two hours for their luggage, tempers flared.

There was a loud exchange of words between travelers and CAL ground staff, the report said. In an effort to calm the situation, an airline employee knelt on the floor asking for forgiveness.

One passenger told the employee there was no reason to kneel. Flight delays were understandable because of the typhoon, but the late luggage was caused by problems with the baggage handlers, he said.

The company in charge, Taoyuan International Airport Services Co., Ltd. (TIAS), said 22 flights arrived between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Friday, or twice the number during the same period a week earlier. It added this had caused problems for the timely deployment of personnel, leading to delays for the delivery of luggage from eight flights, according to TIAS.

CAL thanked its staff for their work during the typhoon, and asked for forgiveness from the public because the circumstances had not allowed personnel to satisfy all the demands from passengers, per CNA.