Two flights from Mexico bound for Boston on Thursday were forced to divert to Alabama, where they ended up stuck on the tarmac for hours due to a customs issue.
Flight 1828 from Los Cabos International Airport took to the skies at 5:17 p.m. while Flight 599 from Mexico City took off almost exactly an hour later, according to a Delta spokesperson. The two flights were supposed to layover in Atlanta before continuing on to Boston but were forced to divert to Montgomery, Alabama due to bad weather.
Both flights landed at the airport in Montgomery shortly around 10:30 p.m. local time, a Delta spokesperson said.
Passengers were forced to sit on the tarmac for hours, unable to get off the plane, because the flight was coming from an international location and there was no Customs and Border Protection staffing at that airport, the airline told Boston 25.
“Look at the bags under my eyes from not sleeping,” said Lauren Forbes, arriving at Logan Airport after a 25-hour journey. “I just want to sleep and go home to my dog. Then, I go to work in the morning.”
Forbes and her boyfriend took off from Los Cabos International on Thursday afternoon.
She was diverted to Montgomery and was forced to stay on the tarmac for more than 7 hours.
She added, “We only had cookies and a little bit of water. I was hoping I hope no one on this plane is diabetic.”
Around 5 am, Forbes says they were led down from the plane to the tarmac in groups of 20.
They were watched by police near their gate.
Forbes continued, “They had roped off a square area and both flights were in there. If you needed to use a restroom, there was a police officer in front of the restroom.”
The couple had to wait another 8 hours to take off from Montgomery to Atlanta. They had to rebook their connecting flight from Boston on their own.
She told Boston 25 that Delta has already reached out to her about reimbursement.
She finished, “I think this is just an eye opener for maybe more substantial protocols in place.”
Delta said the plane doors remained open as passengers waited.
Delta says the flights then had to stay at Montgomery longer than expected because lightning in the area caused flight crews to run over their permitted working times.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for this experience,” a Delta Airlines spokesperson said in a statement. “We fell short of how we aspire to serve and care for our customers amid thunderstorms in the Southeast U.S. Thursday evening. We are reaching out to each customer with a full refund of their booking.”
Delta said at 5:15 a.m. and 5:23 a.m., egress was allowed and passengers were able to exit their planes and go into the airport, but they had to stay in a certain area.
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport was not suitable as a diversion airport because it was also experiencing severe thunderstorms.
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