Chartered Team Plane Down For Maintenance, Atlanta Flight Cancelled

Passengers booked aboard Delta Connection Flight 5059 out of Gainesville, FL Sunday found themselves without an airplane after the Delta aircraft chartered for the Florida Gators basketball team was grounded for a maintenance problem.

The Gators were schedule to play in Storrs, CT against UCONN Monday night. Flight 5095 was bound for Atlanta. The airline made a decision to honor its contract with the University of Florida, and shifted the equipment to the charter flight.

The Gainesville Sun reports that, according to Delta spokesman Michael Thomas, the passengers "were accommodated on other flights" to Atlanta, and given vouchers for their inconvenience. Some had to wait until the next day to fly to Atlanta. "Delta apologizes to those customers on Delta Connection flight 5059, operated by ExpressJet, who were impacted by the resulting cancellation of their flight," he said in an e-mail to the paper.

Denver Parlor, a spokesman for the team, said he was not aware of Delta's decision to shift the airplane to the charter flight.

FMI: www.delta.com