Passengers on a Delta Airlines flight from Ghana to New York were told to be “grateful” after the plane was diverted due to mechanical issues and landed on a remote island for nearly 12 hours, during which they claimed to have been starved.
On Friday, the flight Delta 157 was diverted to Terceira Island in the Azores due to a mechanical issue with the plane’s oxygen backup system, which required immediate attention.
Delta stated to Pulse on Friday that Delta flight 157, traveling from Accra to New York-JFK, was redirected to Lajes Airport due to a mechanical problem that necessitated observation. The maintenance technicians are currently assessing the primary aircraft, while a substitute aircraft is on its way from Lisbon to Lajes Airport in order to expedite our customers’ journeys to their ultimate destinations. The airplane landed without any issues. We extend our apologies to our customers for the inconvenience caused by the delay in their travel plans.
However, passengers turned to Facebook to claim that the experience was a horrifying ordeal.
Delta’s lack of control in this unfortunate situation was announced by the pilot, who claimed that the plane would have to make an emergency landing due to low oxygen levels for the passenger. Nana Smith-Asante stated in a lengthy post that the flight attendants were “gentle” and “kind” throughout the five-hour flight.
Asante-Smith claims that the airline exhibited a “careless indifference towards human life and welfare” upon the plane’s arrival. Passengers were restricted to a designated area of the airport and were unable to move about freely due to inadequate passport documentation or visas, whereas the crew members were transported to a hotel. Nevertheless,
Due to limited accessibility to the airport and the absence of Delta staff, Asante-Smith asserts that it was challenging to locate nourishment.
She penned, “Following our pleas and appeals, we were provided with paper sacks containing ham sandwiches (which a number of individuals were unable to consume due to dietary limitations related to pork), juice cartons, and cookies/biscuits.” “Nevertheless, there were no official declarations or notifications from Delta as travelers hurriedly sought to reschedule their connecting flights and seek clarification regarding the predicament in which we found ourselves.”
Passengers expressed on social media that they were grateful for a second chance at life and were not informed by airport representatives about the “revolution” starting, as well as the “uncomfortable” conditions at the airport.
Asante-Smith stated, ‘Delta left us behind and treated us like unwelcome pests by airport officials on Terceira Islands. We were (and still are) completely drained in terms of our physical, mental, and emotional well-being.’
The flight ultimately departed and arrived at JFK after spending 12 hours on the island.
One disgruntled passenger named Kiaundra Eggleston took to posting a video footage of the scene inside the airport, attempting to make sense of the situation and find a way out.
This female rep told us we should be grateful that they allowed us to be here and our plane didn’t crash in the sea pic.twitter.com/AwOR2jPp2I
pic.twitter.com/pFPlb7RaJ2
A spokesperson from Delta informed Insider that customers were provided with refunds due to the poor weather conditions on the East Coast and the inability of the passengers to help once they arrived back in New York.
Delta Airlines did not promptly reply to Entrepreneur’s inquiry for comment.