A Bacolod-Manila flight was delayed at the Bacolod-Silay Airport for almost two hours because of a misinterpretation of an LGBT conversation inside an aircraft on Saturday morning, Oct. 19, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio confirmed on Sunday.
At approximately 11:10 a.m. inside Cebu Pacific Flight 5J486, an incident occurred involving two male passengers, a CAAP report said.
During a conversation between the two, one said “Oi, naubos na ba ‘yong watusi mo? (hey, did you run out of watusi”, a reference to a condom in the LGBTQ community language, the CAAP said.
However, the term “watusi” is also locally known as a type of firecracker.
A cabin crew member, who was nearby fixing overhead luggage, overheard the conversation. Concerned about the potential reference to a firecracker, she approached the passenger to clarify the meaning of “watusi”, the report said.
The passenger explained to the cabin crew member that he was referring to a condom and apologized if his words were inappropriate within the aircraft. The cabin crew member immediately reported the matter to the pilot-in-command, who then informed Cebu Pacific management, the CAAP report said.
As a precaution, the airline made the decision to deplane all passengers and cargo for a K9 bomb-sniffing inspection and security paneling.
At approximately 11:20 a.m., PEMS Robert F. Rodillas, Team Leader of the K9 unit at the Bacolod-Silay Airport, arrived at the scene. The team conducted a thorough inspection of all luggage, hand-carry items, and the aircraft cabin.
By 1 p.m., the Cebu Pacific Flight 5J486 was cleared and departed for Manila without further incident.
At 1:21 p.m. the Cebu Pacific Bacolod staff rebooked the two males involved on Flight 5J488 scheduled for later that afternoon, the CAAP report said.*