Passengers on a Delta Airways flight headed to New York from Ghana claimed that they have been starved for hours and informed to “be grateful” after the aircraft diverted as a result of mechanical points and landed on a distant island for almost 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 aircraft had begun to bear a “mechanical challenge with a backup oxygen system.”
“Delta flight 157 from Accra to New York-JFK diverted to Lajes Airport following a mechanical challenge that required statement,” Delta mentioned 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 shortly 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 publish, Nana Asante-Smith mentioned that 5 hours into the flight, the pilot introduced that the aircraft can be making an emergency touchdown as a result of low oxygen, with the passenger claiming that the flight attendants have been “form and mild” and that “the unlucky scenario was not in Delta’s management.”
Nevertheless, when the aircraft landed, Asante-Smith alleges that the airline displayed a “reckless disregard for human life and well-being. Whereas crew members have been shuttled to a lodge, 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 correct passport documentation or visas.
With restricted entry to the airport and no Delta crew, Asante-Smith claims it was onerous to search out meals.
“After begging and pleading, we obtained paper baggage with ham sandwiches (that many couldn’t eat as a result of dietary restrictions related to pork), juice packing containers and cookies/crackers,” she wrote. “Nonetheless, no official bulletins or updates from Delta as passengers scrambled to rebook connecting flights, request readability in regards to the scenario we discovered ourselves in.”
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Passengers on social media mentioned that the airport circumstances have been “uncomfortable” and that airport representatives informed them to not begin “a revolution” and “be thankful for a second probability at life.”
“We have been deserted by Delta and handled like encroaching roaches by airport representatives on Terceira Islands,” Asante-Smith wrote. “We have 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 publish video footage of the scene contained in the airport, as disgruntled passengers tried to make sense of the scenario and discover a manner out.
This feminine rep informed us we ought to be grateful that they allowed us to be right here and our aircraft 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 have 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 circumstances on the East Coast.
Delta Airways didn’t instantly reply to Entrepreneur‘s request for remark.
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