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Eugene

(62,658 posts)
Sun Jan 20, 2019, 06:04 PM Jan 2019

Passengers stuck on United flight in frigid cold for more than 14 hours

Source: CNN

Passengers stuck on United flight in frigid cold for more than 14 hours

By Eric Levenson, Amanda Jackson and Alta Spells, CNN
Updated 2255 GMT (0655 HKT) January 20, 2019

(CNN) — Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Hong Kong were left stuck on the ground for more than 14 hours in frigid weather with a dwindling supply of food.

The nightmarish incident began when the 3:05 p.m. flight was diverted to the Goose Bay Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, due to a medical emergency. The plane landed there at 9:31 p.m. AST, and medical personnel met the aircraft and a passenger was taken to a local hospital.

But as the flight was set to take off again, it experienced a mechanical issue.
That's when the waiting began.

Passengers were not allowed to leave the airplane because the Goose Bay Airport did not have a customs officer on duty during the overnight hours. Saturday bled into Sunday, and still the flight remained grounded.

-snip-


Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/20/us/united-flight-canada-grounded/index.html


A United flight from Newark to Hong Kong was diverted to Goose Bay, Canada. And then it sat in the cold for hours and hours.
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Passengers stuck on United flight in frigid cold for more than 14 hours (Original Post) Eugene Jan 2019 OP
I wonder if anybody thought Turbineguy Jan 2019 #1
I doubt it would do any good Major Nikon Jan 2019 #4
This is in Canada. eallen Jan 2019 #9
Ah yes, the joys of international air travel Major Nikon Jan 2019 #2
So glad that has not happened to me RainCaster Jan 2019 #3
Wouldn't fly if I had to! Kajun Gal Jan 2019 #5
UA sucks!!! CountAllVotes Jan 2019 #6
I take offense by your comment kimbutgar Jan 2019 #7
UA absolutely did the right thing Major Nikon Jan 2019 #8
I think I might have chosen that over my flt last year... EX500rider Mar 2019 #10
My wife and I in January were stuck in Abidjon Ivory Coast for 6 hours on one of those Boeing planes gopiscrap Apr 2019 #11

Turbineguy

(38,383 posts)
1. I wonder if anybody thought
Sun Jan 20, 2019, 06:07 PM
Jan 2019

of taking up a collection to pay the overtime. This sounds like a trump administration clusterfuck. Except it wasn't trump.

Major Nikon

(36,900 posts)
4. I doubt it would do any good
Sun Jan 20, 2019, 06:13 PM
Jan 2019

Customs officers are federal employees of the nation that employs them. It's not as if you can hand them a wad of cash and expect them to work.

RainCaster

(11,548 posts)
3. So glad that has not happened to me
Sun Jan 20, 2019, 06:08 PM
Jan 2019

I spend a lot of time on flights, and the mathematics of it happening gets higher every year. I can sympathize with all those poor United victims.

kimbutgar

(23,283 posts)
7. I take offense by your comment
Sun Jan 20, 2019, 06:58 PM
Jan 2019

As a UA employee this incident was something outof their control. From the medical emergency, to mechanical issue and the international laws of customs. It could hve happened on any airline.

Major Nikon

(36,900 posts)
8. UA absolutely did the right thing
Sun Jan 20, 2019, 07:02 PM
Jan 2019

They had a medical emergency and they landed at the nearest airport that could accommodate to give the patient the best chance of survival and recovery. From that point everything else was beyond their control.

EX500rider

(11,468 posts)
10. I think I might have chosen that over my flt last year...
Tue Mar 5, 2019, 09:00 PM
Mar 2019

....Ft Lauderdale to Medellin, Colombia, on Spirit, 2-1/2 hrs into a 3-1/2hr flight some crazy lady tells the flight crew she has a bomb, we divert to Cartagena and sit in a remote part of the airport with no A/C for 2+ hrs waiting for the Colombian bomb squad to bring a dog on the plane, we were on "lock down", no getting out of our seats, no turning on any electronics....was not very fun. The Colombian Police dragged her away, I bet she found Colombian jails a eye-opener.
Although 14 hrs is a VERY long time.

gopiscrap

(24,170 posts)
11. My wife and I in January were stuck in Abidjon Ivory Coast for 6 hours on one of those Boeing planes
Thu Apr 4, 2019, 06:20 PM
Apr 2019

that was eventually grounded and one time we were stuck in London many years ago when Lloyd's International Airline went bankrupt

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