A passenger fainted while others were reportedly kept on a sweltering Cebu Pacific plane, bound for Cebu from Manila, for more than an hour on Friday (June 16), with the Philippines' Department of Transportation later ordering an investigation into the matter.

Passengers were reportedly left on flight 5J575 and were not deplaned, with babies crying and the elderly suffering, said Facebook user Gin Durano, who posted photos and videos of the situation.

Her post was widely shared, and one video shows passengers fanning themselves while a woman is given oxygen and taken out.

Budget airline Cebu Pacific said in a series of tweets on its official account that the passenger fainted while the aircraft was waiting for clearance to take off, and was given emergency medical assistance while an ambulance was called.

It added that its staff offered passengers water "following reports from our crew that the cabin temperature was warm", and arranged to have them transferred to another aircraft.

Cebu Pacific issued a statement saying that the delay was due to debris that was being cleared from the runway, CNN Philippines reported on Saturday (June 17).

The Department of Transportation said that day that if investigations find that the flight went beyond the prescribed two-hour period to deplane its passengers due to long tarmac delays, Cebu Pacific and the pilot responsible would be held liable.