More than 150 people have been forced to sleep at the Geraldton Airport terminal after two Qantas flights were forced to divert from Perth due to fog.
Qantas says crews had reached the maximum limit of working hours and it could not find last-minute accommodation for the passengers.
A spokeswoman for the company says it would have been an uncomfortable night and has apologised to its customers.
"We attempted to find last-minute accommodation for all customers of these flights but unfortunately due to a shortage of available hotel rooms, customers stayed in the airport terminal overnight," a statement from the company said.
"We apologise to these customers and we thank them for their understanding.
"We know this would have been an uncomfortable night but the conditions were not safe to land in Perth and our crew couldn’t safely continue once the fog had lifted."
The flights originated from Broome/Pt Hedland and Newman.
Uncomfortable night
Passenger Andrew Dymock said it was a very uncomfortable night with the minimum temperature dropping to 4.8 degrees.
"We’ve been sitting in the terminal here at Geraldton with no heaters, minimal food, they had coffee and stuff out for us, no offers of blankets or anything to keep us warm," he said.
"All of our check-in luggage was on the plane; my jacket, hoodie and everything warm was in there so I’ve basically been sitting here for seven hours with a shirt on and it hasn’t been above 10 degrees all night."
Mr Dymock said better planning should have been in place, with the fog issues in Perth already a problem before the flight took off at 9.20pm.
"To me that should have given them enough time to come up with a couple of contingency plans, a couple of buses and a back up plan for accommodation because nine hours sitting in a terminal in a regional centre is not the greatest experience," he said.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane van Styn said it had been difficult to contact transport and accommodation providers because of the time.
"Our staff made the overnighter as comfortable as possible by setting up passengers and crew in the waiting lounge, where there are heaters, amenities and space for them to stretch out," he said.
"This is the first time an event like this has happened and we are pleased that our runway was extended in 2019 to allow for this very situation.
"If the runway wasn't extended, the planes would have had to land elsewhere."
