Stuck On The Tarmac In The Dark With No Food, Water, Or Air Conditioning

Passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Newark were forced to endure nearly four hours in miserable conditions when their flight was diverted to Connecticut due to bad weather. The flight landed at Bradley International Airport, which is not normally served by Virgin Atlantic, and was not equipped to handle the 300 international passengers arriving on the A340. When the airplane's generator gave out, the temperature inside the cabin quickly climbed to what one passenger said felt like nearly 100 degrees.

Multiple media sources including The London Daily Mail and the New Jersey Star-Ledger report that the flight, its 300 passengers and 14 crew, were diverted to Bradley International Airport near Hartford, CT because of poor weather conditions in Newark. The flight landed about 2020 EDT, but with no gate to go to, the passengers and crew were held on the plane until about 0100. It was dark and hot, and there was reportedly no food and little water. There were reports of passengers fainting and falling ill on the plane while they waited to be allowed into the terminal. Some were reportedly administered oxygen due to heat stress. As could be expected, adult tempers flared and uncomfortable children complained as they do in such situations.

Additional customs and immigration personnel had to be brought to the airport to clear the passengers into the U.S. At one point, the pilots asked for permission to allow the passengers to deplane, and a customs official reportedly told them they would be arrested if they got off the plane. The Associated Press reports that a Virgin Atlantic spokesman said in an e-mail that the flight's captain was told by customs officials that the passengers had to stay on board until more officials from immigration arrived ... which took more than two hours. There was only one Customs official at Bradley International when the A340 landed

The passengers were eventually taken by bus to Newark Wednesday morning.

In an official statement, Virgin Atlantic said it would like to "thank passengers for the patience and apologize for any inconvenience caused," and offered the passengers vouchers for use on a future flight. A VA spokesperson who would not give her name told the Daily Mail the situation was beyond the airline's control. Bradley International operations specialist Ken Cast said "Everyone was safe. It's better to be on the ground wishing you were someplace else than in the air wishing you were on the ground."

New rules governing tarmac delays do not apply to international flights, but the incident has prompted FlyersRights.org Executive Director Kate Hanni to suggest that they should. "Given the horrific, inhumane and dangerous situation that took place on the Virgin Atlantic Flight last night, DOT must step in immediately to include international flights in the 3 Hour and Air Conditioning Rules," Hanni said in a statement. "Numerous passengers were hospitalized after being exposed for over four hours to temperatures well over 100 degrees- we are fortunate there were no fatalities."

The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that DOT secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement “The events reported overnight in Connecticut reinforce my belief that passengers have rights and are entitled to fair treatment when they fly."

But one industry consultant said the rule is flawed. Michael Boyd, a consultant from Denver, said the incident shows that airlines don't always have the option of getting people off a plane within the three hour window.

FMI: www.flyersrights.org, www.dot.gov, www.virginatlantic.com