Beth
Caulfield
Editorial Director
Virgin Passengers Stuck on Plane for Hours
191 Comments
The U.S. Department of Transportation immediately jumped on the incident to support its proposals for expanded airline consumer protections, and said it would investigate what happened.
The incident started when the plane diverted to Bradley International Airport due to strong thunderstorms near Newark.
No one was able to disembark the plane because no customs and immigration workers were available to clear them at the airport, a Virgin spokeswoman told The Associated Press. The plane was carrying 300 passengers and 14 crew.
The situation became so bad after hours on the ground that some passengers reportedly started screaming and yelling, and at least three people fainted and were taken away in ambulances, passengers told CNN. The airport confirmed to AP that a few passengers were treated by paramedics.
According to passengers, the plane landed at Bradley at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday night, and they were kept onboard until nearly 1 a.m.
"It was like four hours on the ground without any air conditioning. It was crazy. Just crazy," passenger Beth Willan told CNN. "There were babies on the plane. And we are in dark and hot. You try to be patient but people were yelling and screaming."
Watch another passenger share his ordeal here:
| Virgin, which has its U.S. headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, said in a statement that the A340-600 jet was diverted to Bradley because of "adverse weather conditions" in the Newark area. "Virgin Atlantic would like to thank passengers for their patience and apologize for any inconvenience caused. All passengers are now being transported to Newark by bus," the airline said. "The safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance." An airline spokeswoman told AOL Travel that all passengers had been bused to Newark by 11 a.m. Wednesday morning. |
Virgin also disputed how long passengers were on the plane, saying it was more like three hours, according to AP.
Temperatures at Bradley were in the mid-60s to low-70s with uncomfortable humidity while the plane was on the tarmac, Charlie Foley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told AP.
A new DOT rule just went into effect in April that bans U.S. carriers from making passengers wait on planes on the tarmac for longer than three hours. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said at the time the rule would be strongly enforced. Airlines that violate the rule could face fines of up to $27,500 per passenger.
The DOT has been pushing to cover international airlines under the same rule.
Of the Virgin incident, LaHood said in a statement, "Recently, I proposed expanding airline passenger protections to require foreign airlines operating in the U.S. to comply with our tarmac delay rule requirements. The events reported overnight in Connecticut reinforce my belief that passengers have rights and are entitled to fair treatment when they fly. Our aviation enforcement office will be looking into the incident to determine whether any violations occurred."
Photo, hyku, flickr
Filed Under: News
READER COMMENTS (Page 1 of 10)
6.23.2010 @ 1:12PM by Robert
This type thing is happening too often. When I get on a plane I expect to take off, arrive and disembark exactly as scheduled. There is no reason to keep passengers sitting on a plane for more than a few minutes, much less several hours.
6.23.2010 @ 1:50PM by FT
So you expect a plane to fly through a violent thunderstorm in able to arrive at its proper destination on time?
Yeah, the results of the diversion sucks and needs to be looked into, but there are reasonable demands (Not getting stuck on a plane for several hours) and there are unreasonable demands (Everything must happen on schedule).
Perfectly reasonable that the plane diverted in order to avoid flying into the thunderstorm, unreasonable that there were no measures in place to allow the passengers to be at least in moderate comfort while arrangements and plans were made.
6.23.2010 @ 2:06PM by Andrew
So you expect to get off the plane even if immigration says not - who is at fault here? Virgin or US immigration?
6.23.2010 @ 2:46PM by Austin
I was flying to Hawaii form LA and 2 hours out they had a mechanical problem and turned back to Los Angeles (another 2 hrs). We then sat on the plane for 3 hrs why they fixed it and then took off again for the 5.5 hr flight to Honolulu. They never offered or supplied extra meals discounts or anything for the added time (7 hrs). it was horrible!That should be illegal.
http://nicoleknowshealthinsurance.com
6.23.2010 @ 2:48PM by J Hall
We had a similar event when we were diverted to Des Moines, aboard American Airlines, due to bad weather in Chicago. We were not allowed to disembark, but the crew did open a door and ground crew "threw up" cases of water and snacks. And flight crew "threw" them to us, as the were not suppose to have cabin service on the ground. I was most impress that no one lost their temper, no one was abusive, in fact alot of bad jokes were told instead!! :)
Ultimately it took 17 hours to fly from Denver to Minneapolis. This included 4 hours on cots when we landed in Chicago.
Day of my Dad's funeral...it was a long day.
6.23.2010 @ 2:47PM by zanedy
They should have just diverted to Mexico! Then they could have just let the people off of the plane, and let them walk across the border into the U.S. And our Federal Government would only be upset, if officials in Arizona tried to stop them!!
6.23.2010 @ 3:00PM by poinsetta47
While these things do happen occasionally, it does seem a bit ridiculous that the airline couldn't have made some alternative arrangements than sequestering 300 passengers w/o AC or lights. What is our world coming to?
6.23.2010 @ 3:00PM by Jo
The crew is ultimately responsible. The Stewardess communicates to the captain the condition of the passengers. The Captain, and only the Captain, makes the the final decision to divert, fly straight, or upside down. The captain IS God when the door shuts. Captain retraining or firing is the answer here. Just flying the plane isn't your only duty. You wear many hats when you advance to Captain. And that's why you're paid the big bucks. Fill the shoes or let someone who can do the job properly fill them.
6.23.2010 @ 3:27PM by shawn
Get over yourself. There are too many elements to make airlines time schedule to the minute. Weather, flo control, crew connections. This is very complicated.
6.23.2010 @ 4:13PM by clem
No one No airline is going to hold me on board I will get off if the feds want to charge me so be it I will use my due process and let 12 jurors determine my case. so often we let those with badges intimidate the people into thinking that if charged, you are guilty. I will always let a jury of my peers decide if I brook the law if I did they have the authority to nullify thanks to our great forefathers. they gave us the rights, we need to exercise them, that means use your due process to the fullest.
6.23.2010 @ 3:28PM by Brian777
No customs and immigration persons were available to clear the passangers at the airport. While it is understandable that these people may not have been scheduled for this flight, this is an airport. Were any of those people at the airport? If so, someone should have prioritized and sent agents to handle the passengers on that plane.
But everyone getting off a plane is checked by customs/immigration INSIDE a facility. Why couldn't the passengers have been allowed to sit in a 'make-shift' waiting area near where they would be checked, inside the airport? There is always security personnel available that could supervise, including restroom visitation. They could provide water as well.
6.23.2010 @ 3:29PM by a man
I've flown in and out of JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, and Bradley more times than I can count. FIRST OFF, NO ONE SHOULD EVER TAKE A BABY ON A PLANE!!!! That's just common sense. Next, these morons can't go a few hours without air conditioning??? Puh-lease. Has anyone ever tried taking a magazine or a newspaper and fanning yourself?? IT WORKS!!!
Here is who to feel sorry for with this one----the airline. They are going to end up being sued by every passenger on that plane. If they get free-floating dopes like all of you on the jury, then there's another American business gone AND MORE JOBS LOST!!!!
6.23.2010 @ 3:34PM by Judy
That is why we never fly on Northworst / Delta (aka SCABair) airlines anymore. Just too risky after they locked out their aircraft repair technicians.
6.23.2010 @ 4:00PM by John Stewart
The vast majority of airline passengers are a lot like sheep and probably deserve the treatment they get. I sometimes wonder just how many hours some people would wait before demanding to be let off! Claim a medical emergency, a panic attack, a clot in your leg that is about to burst.... whatever, but rest assured you can get off if you insist long and hard enough!
Sure you may not be allowed to reboard, and you may lose your airfare, and you may even be subject to arrest if you keep demanding and insisting, but it can be done, that's the important thing.
It is absolutely amazing the amount of abuse most passengers seem to be willing to tolerate. I guess some folks just deserve to be kept on a plane for 3+ hours because it seems to happen all too often.
6.23.2010 @ 4:04PM by R Kroll
Being held HOSTAGE should is against the law.. There is NO reason that an airline can't get people OFF the plane. No customs people available ... BULL.
6.23.2010 @ 4:10PM by mickey
What's the Big F-ing deal if a few people don't get checked out by customs?????????? Neither to the illegal aliens who flood through our borders. One plane full of passengers, its like, oh my God, what if someone has too many souveniers from London. This whole situation is idiotic and the idiots are winning. God help us.
6.23.2010 @ 4:15PM by Gene
Hey Genius: You can't take off in a storm (Duh) and
no Custom Officials were available. SMH
6.23.2010 @ 4:23PM by TS
Evidently you don't know anything about flying. If you go back to the gate, you will loose your takeoff spot. Then, as time goes by, the flight crew can & will go illegal. I don't understand why passengers don't bring a bottle of water & a snack on planes. I do agree there should be a limit of time to sit & there are new laws now in place. What did you expect them to do...land in a thunder storm & crash?
ADD YOUR COMMENTS
ADVERTISEMENT
Follow Us
Categories
- Air Travel
- Beach
- Best Of
- Budget
- Cruise
- Family
- Hotel
- News
- Outdoor
- Real Life Stories
- Romantic
- Tips & Tricks
- Video
- Weird
Summer Destinations
From Cape Code to South Africa, check out these amazing photos of the world's best.
See the Gallery: Great Coasts