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“You Can’t Cure Stupid”: Over 300 Flyers Stuck On Tarmac After Being Diverted To Customs-Free Airport
Nearly 300 Delta passengers found themselves stranded overnight on the tarmac after their planes were rerouted from their original Mexico-Atlanta flight due to bad weather.
The ordeal began Thursday evening (April 10) when two separate Delta flights—one from Mexico City and another from Cabo San Lucas—were diverted from their intended destination, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, due to severe storms.
Highlights
- Nearly 300 Delta passengers spent the night on the tarmac due to severe weather rerouting flights.
- Passengers couldn't deplane overnight due to customs issue.
- By mid-morning, new flights were arranged from Montgomery to Atlanta.
With fuel running low, both aircraft were forced to land at Montgomery Regional Airport. Not being an international port of entry meant passengers were legally prohibited from deplaning and had to remain inside the aircraft until sunrise.
“We couldn’t even get off the plane,” one frustrated passenger said.
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300 Delta passengers had to spend the night on the tarmac after their planes were rerouted due to severe weather
Image credits: Miguel Ángel Sanz / Unsplash
What was supposed to be a 3.5-hour journey stretched into nearly 20 hours and was made more uncomfortable by the airline’s alleged mismanagement of the situation.
“Bad weather is understandable. But it felt like there was no plan. No communication. Just one problem after another,” passenger Alex Alvarez said in an interview.
Image credits: NBC News
After landing, customs agents were reportedly unavailable, and flight crews hit their federally mandated duty limits, which meant travelers were left stuck inside the planes without any clear resolution.
Eventually, after hours of being confined to their seats, the passengers were finally allowed off the planes around 5 am local time on Friday (April 11). However, they still couldn’t leave the area due to the aforementioned lack of customs agents.
“So we ended up in Montgomery, which is not an international airport. I guess the law is that if there are no customs at the airport, you are literally stuck on that airplane. So, I just learned that today,” said passenger Lauren Forbes to local media.
Delta Airlines issued an apology and admitted to having fallen short of its customer care standards
Image credits: NBC News
According to passengers, Delta offered snacks and sandwiches to waiting passengers, but only after an extended delay. Passengers also reported being unable to properly sleep due to constant announcements by the airline.
Image credits: 11Alive
“We had pretzels over and over again. I did take a nap—it wasn’t comfortable,” another passenger said.
“People would sleep, but then you were woken up by the announcements, and there was a point where people just said, ‘you know, don’t make the announcement if it’s going to be a lie,’” Forbes recounted.
Image credits: 11Alive
Political commentator Mike Gallaher, who was a passenger on the flight, posted pictures of the uncomfortable incident and updated his followers throughout the night.
“Total chaos at the airport. Five gate agents overwhelmed. No one here at the Montgomery Airport knows what to do,” he wrote on X.
“In all the years I’ve flown, I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”
Image credits: 11Alive
A Delta spokesperson issued a statement apologizing for the experience, saying, “We fell short of how we aspire to serve and care for our customers amid thunderstorms in the Southeast US Thursday evening.”
By mid-morning, new flights were being arranged to take the passengers from Montgomery to Atlanta.
The incident comes almost two months after a Delta Airlines plane ended upside down on a runway after an emergency landing at a Toronto airport, injuring 8 passengers in the process.
“Safe and sound.” Netizens sympathized with the passengers, expressing relief for their safety
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What do you think ?
Shane S 7 months ago
Airports need to have a secure gate where people can deplane but are not allowed to leave and it’s basically a lockdown situation. Planes are made to fly, not to hang out in. It would be so useful in these times where the plane can’t leave but passengers can’t get off either.
KatSaidWhat 7 months ago
A warehouse type place where they can also supply at least some water and simple food.
Load More Replies...
Blah Blah Blah 7 months ago
Big shocker but this type of s**t is only going to get worse as corporations will have zero accountability moving forward due to the US so called leader and congress bc all they care about is profits, stock buybacks and dividends.
Atom Bohr 7 months ago
And as the climate continues to change extreme weather is only going to become more frequent. This could have been handled so much better once the planes had landed. I refuse to believe that no customs agents could have been brought in sooner, and occurrences like this are only going to make flying less safe, because pilots aren't going to put themselves in this situation willingly
Load More Replies...
Wang Zhuang 7 months ago
I don't work in the industry, so I'm only guessing when I ask this, but couldn't they have gotten a fuel tank to the airport, refueled the plane and flew to a different airport with customs officials rather than force the people to remain on the plane for 20 hours? Yes, it would have been costly for the airline to do this, but in this case, surely it would have been worth it rather than keep people on the plane like that. Airlines get away with so much sh*t.
Shane S 7 months ago
Airports need to have a secure gate where people can deplane but are not allowed to leave and it’s basically a lockdown situation. Planes are made to fly, not to hang out in. It would be so useful in these times where the plane can’t leave but passengers can’t get off either.
KatSaidWhat 7 months ago
A warehouse type place where they can also supply at least some water and simple food.
Load More Replies... Blah Blah Blah 7 months ago
Big shocker but this type of s**t is only going to get worse as corporations will have zero accountability moving forward due to the US so called leader and congress bc all they care about is profits, stock buybacks and dividends.
Atom Bohr 7 months ago
And as the climate continues to change extreme weather is only going to become more frequent. This could have been handled so much better once the planes had landed. I refuse to believe that no customs agents could have been brought in sooner, and occurrences like this are only going to make flying less safe, because pilots aren't going to put themselves in this situation willingly
Load More Replies... Wang Zhuang 7 months ago
I don't work in the industry, so I'm only guessing when I ask this, but couldn't they have gotten a fuel tank to the airport, refueled the plane and flew to a different airport with customs officials rather than force the people to remain on the plane for 20 hours? Yes, it would have been costly for the airline to do this, but in this case, surely it would have been worth it rather than keep people on the plane like that. Airlines get away with so much sh*t.
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