A Delta flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with 270 passengers was stranded overnight at a remote military base in Canada after making an emergency landing on Sunday, the airline said.
“Delta Flight 135 from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 10 experienced a mechanical problem and diverted to Goose Bay, Newfoundland, on Sunday afternoon, out of an abundance of caution,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. communicated.
Happy Valley-Goose Bay is a town located on the northeastern coast of Canada and has a population of less than 10,000. It is home to a Canadian Air Force base with a runway long enough to allow for an emergency aircraft landing.
But after changing planes and waiting hours to resume their trip, a staffing problem grounded them for the night.
Shikha Joshi, who was on the plane with her 4-year-old son, told NBC News that Canadian customs took the passengers to the military barracks in groups of 25 to 30.
“I boarded a new plane after waiting more than 7 hours, waited an hour after boarding for takeoff and learned that the crew and pilot had completed the flight hours allocated to them and that they now had to rest for 10 to 12 hours. Now Delta is looking for accommodation for all of us,” Joshi wrote in an Instagram story.
Each family was given a key to a room with basic amenities, where they slept for about two hours before a bus arrived to take them to another plane, Joshi said.
A Delta spokesperson said the airline worked with Goose Bay authorities to arrange food, water and accommodation for passengers from Sunday to Monday.
“Crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions at Goose Bay Airport, resulting in the suspension of airport operations,” the airline said in a statement. . “Delta sent additional planes to Goose Bay on Monday to get customers to their final destinations.”
Goose Bay Airport officials could not be reached for comment.
Delta apologized to customers for the inconvenience and told NBC News it would compensate customers, but declined to go into detail.
Joshi listed some of the things Delta could have done better after the emergency landing, including communicating more effectively with passengers, providing them with meals and reducing the time passengers had to wait for information or a new action plan.
“If we hadn’t landed at that time, the engine would have failed because the defrost function would have stopped working,” Joshi wrote in his Instagram story. “I’m grateful for everything that happened, but the aftermath could have been handled much better by Delta.”
Passengers on the plane received snacks like Rice Krispies bars, granola bars and baked goods from Tim Hortons, according to photos posted by Joshi.
The passengers returned to Detroit after more than 24 hours.
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