There Are Two Airports In Branson, Mo. And This Southwest Flight Landed At The Wrong One

Choices! They can be so hard to make, or perhaps just complicated and inexplicable. So much so that Southwest Airlines isn’t explaining why the crew of a flight from Chicago bound for one airport near Branson, Mo. airport decided to land at the other instead.

On Sunday night a Southwest spokesman confirmed that the flight from Midway landed safely at M. Graham Clark-Taney County Airport (airport code PLK), instead of as scheduled at Branson Airport (BKG), which is nearby, reports USA Today (warning: Link has autoplay video).

“Our ground crew from the Branson airport has arrived at the airport to take care of our customers and their baggage,” the spokesman said. “The landing was uneventful, and all customers and crew are safe.”

He didn’t give a reason as to why the plane landed at the airport that mostly serves charter, corporate and general aviation flights instead of at the other one, which has much longer runways. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the agency is looking into the flight as well.

Passengers were bused to the correct airport and put on another aircraft for the second leg of the trip to Dallas.

One passenger says the plane was louder than others he’s been on, but he wasn’t worried.

“I wasn’t concerned about any danger. My dog perked up and I thought it was unusual,” he said. “Now it’s kind of scary. You don’t know what’s going on.”

This kind of switcheroo likely won’t happen again, it’s to be hoped, as Southwest announced last month it will discontinue service to the Branson Airport in June.

Southwest flight lands at wrong Branson airport [USA Today]

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