Passengers kept on plane for almost 5 hours? Yes, again.

[techs]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_stranded_on_plane

UK jet passengers stuck on Conn. tarmac for hours

NEWARK, N.J. – Passengers who spent hours stuck on a hot, dark plane on the tarmac in Connecticut described on Wednesday a scene of confusion and misery as their trans-Atlantic flight was delayed, then diverted.

Kimberley Vince was on Tuesday night's Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Newark, N.J., to begin work as a camp counselor on New York's Long Island. She was among the several busloads of passengers who arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport by mid-morning Wednesday.

She said the crew made frequent announcements from the tarmac that led passengers to believe they'd be departing soon.

"It was like every five or 10 minutes for four hours," she said.

Bad weather grounded the flight at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport outside Hartford. Passengers say they landed at about 8:20 p.m. Tuesday and were kept on the plane until about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Once inside the terminal, passengers were delayed three or four more hours as they waited to get through customs.

"Virgin Atlantic would like to thank passengers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience cause," the airline said Wednesday in a statement.

The three-hour limit on tarmac strandings that went into effect in April doesn't apply to foreign carriers or international flights by U.S. carriers, although U.S. carriers are required to have contingency plans for returning passengers waiting for prolonged periods on planes to airport terminals.




Ya know, it never ceases to astonish me the power of big business to control the laws of America. I, and I bet a lot of people, thought this wouldn't happen anymore after Congress passed the three hour time limit a short while back. I guess the corporations once more slipped in an out for some flights, i.e. international flights.

I wonder if the investigation will turn up the answers to the questions of whether the A.C. was working, and whether people were even given any food.

 

[akshatp]

What a poorly written story. The flight is from London to Newark, but they are stuck in Conn?

Not until after clicking the link, and then reading all the way to the bottom is when the reader is told the flight was diverted due to showers.

Terribly organized from a facts point of view.

 

[akshatp]

Also to note, this is not the same as when domestic carriers here do it for unforeseen delays.

These passengers legally could not be allowed off until customs officials arrived at the airport. Being a small airport not accustomed to incoming international flights at night, they didnt have anyone on staff.

 

[spidey07]

Yes, yes...we know. It was those evil corporations being all corporationy that kept the plane on the ground.

NOT the weather, no it couldn't be that.

 

[Firsttime]

I hate everything about the Newark airport. This makes me like it even less.

 

[waggy]

Yes, yes...we know. It was those evil corporations being all corporationy that kept the plane on the ground.

NOT the weather, no it couldn't be that.

great so they had to land. i agree its better to land then fly.

but then let the people off the plan until its safe to fly again?

 

[Crusty]

I once had an airline rep board a plane after sitting on the tarmac for over an hour informing people that our plane was still on time and nobody would miss their connecting flights. I had never seen a plane full of people go from silent to pissed off so quickly until then, it was ridiculous... sadly she just walked off the plane to never come back leaving a bunch of people confused as fuck until we actually got to the Houston.

 

[Crusty]

great so they had to land. i agree its better to land then fly.

but then let the people off the plan until its safe to fly again?

International flight, they can't be on US soil until they've cleared customs and immigration.

 

[InverseOfNeo]

These passengers legally could not be allowed off until customs officials arrived at the airport. Being a small airport not accustomed to incoming international flights at night, they didnt have anyone on staff.

This. Also, keep in mind some "International" airports in the US have no Customs/Immigration agents at all. An airport can be deemed "international" if international flights depart or arrive from that airport. When flying from Canada to USA, you actually clear customs and immigration in Canada so you are able to fly to a smaller (and perhaps more local) airport such as the one in this story.

 

[mugs]

Ya know, it never ceases to astonish me the power of big business to control the laws of America. I, and I bet a lot of people, thought this wouldn't happen anymore after Congress passed the three hour time limit a short while back. I guess the corporations once more slipped in an out for some flights, i.e. international flights.

Fuck Obama for letting this happen. :thumbsdown:

You know these corporations are just doing this stuff to screw with people.

 

[akshatp]

I hate everything about the Newark airport. This makes me like it even less.

Except this had nothing to do with Newark Airport. It was the destination, yes. But the WEATHER diverted them to CT.

 

[Firsttime]

Except this had nothing to do with Newark Airport. It was the destination, yes. But the WEATHER diverted them to CT.

I understand they were not in Newark at the time. Weather conditions in Newark caused them to have to land in Connecticut. I still hate the Newark airport. Almost every negative experience I've had with planes has happened going to, at, or coming from Newark.

 

[Crusty]

I understand they were not in Newark at the time. Weather conditions in Newark caused them to have to land in Connecticut. I still hate the Newark airport. Almost every negative experience I've had with planes has happened going to, at, or coming from Newark.

The entire northeast coast of the US is the biggest bottleneck for air traffic we have, delays there WILL affect the rest of the air traffic so it's no wonder that people associate Newark with shitty travel experiences . The trick is getting through the area before noon and the delays have time to start stacking up.

 

[Kadarin]

I once had an airline rep board a plane after sitting on the tarmac for over an hour informing people that our plane was still on time and nobody would miss their connecting flights. I had never seen a plane full of people go from silent to pissed off so quickly until then, it was ridiculous... sadly she just walked off the plane to never come back leaving a bunch of people confused as fuck until we actually got to the Houston.

So did you guys make all your connecting flights?

I once got stuck on the tarmac because the airport loaded too much fuel on the plane, and it took a while for them to get the fuel truck back to remove enough to allow the plane to fly. It took about 45 minutes, but they modified the flightplan and speed and as it turned out we were in fact able to make the connecting flight.

 

[Slew Foot]

Stupid Virgin airlines should have turned on their rain-go-away machine. Then they would have had to land in Connecticut.

 

[oogabooga]

Stupid Virgin airlines should have turned on their rain-go-away machine. Then they would have had to land in Connecticut.

This is what you get for using their flights compared to one of the big boys who have the machines installed and use them all the time (except when it rains)

 

[Genx87]

Also to note, this is not the same as when domestic carriers here do it for unforeseen delays.

These passengers legally could not be allowed off until customs officials arrived at the airport. Being a small airport not accustomed to incoming international flights at night, they didnt have anyone on staff.

I think they could have been let off into a room. Or at the very least escorted by security personel to bathrooms one by one. Ridiculous to make them sit and wait while the airport finds their customs agents.

 

[OutHouse]

last week i was on a flight from Indy to Denver and we had to land at Cheyenne Wyoming due to a really bad thunderstorm that parked itself over DIA. we sat on the united flight for 3 hours waiting for the weather to clear. Cheyenne is a small airport and our 737 was parked next to Cessna's. The pilot told us several times that we could deplane and arrange for ground travel to Denver but since Cheyenne does not have security we could not get back on the plane. the plane ran out of potable water and then the soft drinks so the flight attendants handed out all the booze we wanted.

 

[OutHouse]

I think they could have been let off into a room. Or at the very least escorted by security personel to bathrooms one by one. Ridiculous to make them sit and wait while the airport finds their customs agents.

ummm maybe there werent any.

 

[Crusty]

So did you guys make all your connecting flights?

I once got stuck on the tarmac because the airport loaded too much fuel on the plane, and it took a while for them to get the fuel truck back to remove enough to allow the plane to fly. It took about 45 minutes, but they modified the flightplan and speed and as it turned out we were in fact able to make the connecting flight.

Absolutely not, the flight from Austin to Houston is 20 minutes in the air. Most connecting flights through Houston from Austin have about a 45-1:30 minute layover. Luckily there was another flight to Hawaii later that day or all sorts of shit would have been screwed up.

What really pissed everyone off was that they were trying to claim weather was the cause of us not making our flights. While it was 30F outside and there was a chance of ice on the plane the reason we couldn't leave was because the deicer was broken, not because it was too cold. At least they finally agreed to get us on the next flight out after some bitching and making them realize it was their shitty plane and not the weathers fault.

 

[akshatp]

I think they could have been let off into a room. Or at the very least escorted by security personel to bathrooms one by one. Ridiculous to make them sit and wait while the airport finds their customs agents.

Unless Internationl customs laws prevent it. Which they do. The US doesnt want 300 potential illegals stepping foot on US soil with nobody around to verify who they are.

(Unless they are mexican, apparently)

 

[kalrith]

Unless Internationl customs laws prevent it. Which they do. The US doesnt want 300 potential illegals stepping foot on US soil with nobody around to verify who they are.

(Unless they are mexican, apparently)

In which case you should add some zeros after that 300.

 

[Motorheader]

That's just crazy. I'd have been like a cat in a cage after the first 30 minutes.

 

[MotF Bane]

Ya know, it never ceases to astonish me the power of big business to control the laws of America. I, and I bet a lot of people, thought this wouldn't happen anymore after Congress passed the three hour time limit a short while back. I guess the corporations once more slipped in an out for some flights, i.e. international flights.

I wonder if the investigation will turn up the answers to the questions of whether the A.C. was working, and whether people were even given any food.

Take your trolling shit-and-run threads back to P&N.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

ridiculous. PUt them in a locked off holding area until the customs people arrive. Keeping them on a 100 degree plane is ludicrous. I don't care what the excuse is.