Passengers on a Delta Airways flight headed to New York from Ghana claimed that they had been starved for hours and informed to “be grateful” after the airplane diverted because of mechanical points and landed on a distant island for practically 12 hours.
Delta Flight 157 diverted to an airport on Terceira Island within the Azores on Friday out of “an abundance of warning” because the airplane had begun to bear a “mechanical concern with a backup oxygen system.”
“Delta flight 157 from Accra to New York-JFK diverted to Lajes Airport following a mechanical concern that required statement,” Delta stated on Friday in an announcement to Pulse. “The plane landed safely and an alternate plane is en path to Lajes Airport from Lisbon to assist our prospects extra rapidly get to their closing locations whereas the unique plane is evaluated by upkeep technicians. We apologize to our prospects for the delay of their travels.”
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Passengers nonetheless, took to Fb to allege that the expertise was a nightmare.
In a prolonged submit, Nana Asante-Smith stated that 5 hours into the flight, the pilot introduced that the airplane can be making an emergency touchdown because of low oxygen, with the passenger claiming that the flight attendants had been “sort and mild” and that “the unlucky scenario was not in Delta’s management.”
Nevertheless, when the airplane landed, Asante-Smith alleges that the airline displayed a “reckless disregard for human life and well-being. Whereas crew members had been shuttled to a resort, passengers needed to go to a portioned a part of the airport and couldn’t transfer round freely as a result of they didn’t have the right passport documentation or visas.
With restricted entry to the airport and no Delta crew, Asante-Smith claims it was arduous to seek out meals.
“After begging and pleading, we acquired paper baggage with ham sandwiches (that many couldn’t eat because of dietary restrictions related to pork), juice bins and cookies/crackers,” she wrote. “Nonetheless, no official bulletins or updates from Delta as passengers scrambled to rebook connecting flights, request readability concerning the scenario we discovered ourselves in.”
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Passengers on social media stated that the airport situations had been “uncomfortable” and that airport representatives informed them to not begin “a revolution” and “be thankful for a second likelihood at life.”
“We had been deserted by Delta and handled like encroaching roaches by airport representatives on Terceira Islands,” Asante-Smith wrote. “We had been (and are) bodily, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.”
The flight finally left and landed at JFK after 12 hours on the island.
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One passenger named Kiaundra Eggleston took to X to submit video footage of the scene contained in the airport, as disgruntled passengers tried to make sense of the scenario and discover a approach out.
This feminine rep informed us we needs to be grateful that they allowed us to be right here and our airplane did not crash within the sea pic.twitter.com/AwOR2jPp2I
— Kiaundra Eggleston (Smith) (@KiaundraSmith) September 9, 2023
— Kiaundra Eggleston (Smith) (@KiaundraSmith) September 9, 2023
A Delta spokesperson informed Insider that prospects had been supplied with refunds, and the lack to assist passengers as soon as they arrived again in New York needed to do with poor climate situations on the East Coast.
Delta Airways didn’t instantly reply to Entrepreneur‘s request for remark.
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