Unhealthy climate pressured practically 300 Delta passengers from Mexico to spend the night time on the tarmac — as a result of their planes have been diverted to a regional airport in Alabama with no customs to course of them.
Practically 300 Delta passengers on two separate flights from Mexico bought to their closing vacation spot in Atlanta 15 hours late – after a storm diverted their planes to a regional airport with no customs, forcing them to spend the night time on the tarmac.
One aircraft from Mexico Metropolis and one other from Cabo San Lucas have been each rerouted to Montgomery Regional Airport Thursday night time, after storms led to a floor cease at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport, the place they have been as a consequence of land.
“It was supposed to be three-and-a-half hours, it turned out to be almost 20 hours,” fed-up flier Alex Alvarez advised 11Alive. “Bad weather, we understand that. But things just kept piling up and piling up.”
Alvarez stated the aircraft was simply stepping into circles till the captain lastly stated they have been operating out of gasoline and landed in Montgomery.
However as a regional airport, Montgomery doesn’t have Customs and Border Safety, so the passengers weren’t allowed off the aircraft after they landed round 10:30 p.m.
The flight fro Cabo San Lucas to Atlanta confronted the identical downside when it diverted to Montgomery due to the unhealthy climate.
Making issues worse, pilots and crew had reached their most allowed hours for the night time, so the passengers needed to wait it out on the tarmac.
It wasn’t till after 5 a.m. Friday that the passengers have been allowed out, as Delta ready to place them on a flight from Montgomery to Atlanta after the storms cleared.
However even then, they have been confined to the gate as a result of they nonetheless hadn’t gone by customs.
Delta fed them sandwiches and chips Friday morning, Alvarez stated, however solely after that they had waited for hours.
Delta stated it’s reaching out to every buyer and providing a full refund.
“We fell short of how we aspire to serve and care for our customers amid thunderstorms in the Southeast US,” a spokesperson stated.
