Hundreds of passengers landed in San Francisco, safe but irritated after a 28-hour overseas flight they say included 12 hours on a tarmac in the Middle East without food or accurate flight information.

Tempers grew short on Etihad Airlines Flight 183 when fog in the city of Abu Dhabi delayed takeoff for a half-day, passengers told San Francisco broadcaster KGO.

“They kept telling us that we were going to leave, you know 15 minutes from now, 20 minutes from now, 30 minutes for now, for 12 hours,” passenger Thomas Piani told reporters in San Francisco after finally landing in the city on Saturday evening.

Passengers said the flight crew told them the Abu Dhabi airport was too crowded with other stranded flights to allow them to get off the plane to wait.

Some passengers took to social media to vent their frustation.

Hey @EtihadAirways, I've been sitting on EY 183 in Abu Dhabi for 10 hours now. THIS IS NOT OK. There are kids and seniors on this flight. — Ravali Reddy (@ravaliareddy) January 3, 2015

Etihad, a national airline of the United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi, said in a statement on its website that fog had delayed flights and caused airport congestion.



The airline apologised for travellers’ inconvenience but said the delays were beyond its control.

We apologise for the serious inconvenience that these events have caused, which have been beyond our control. 8/8 — Etihad Airways (@EtihadAirways) January 4, 2015

Etihad spokespeople did not immediately respond to an after-hours request from Associated Press for comment on passengers’ complaints about conditions onboard during the wait on the tarmac.