Stranded passengers have lashed out after an airplane representative reportedly insisted they should be grateful their plane did not “crash into the sea”.
The American Delta airlines flight was flying from Accra in Ghana to JFK airport in New York City when the plane was forced to make an unscheduled stop on the remote Atlantic island of Terceira in the Azores.
Passengers onboard claim they were left stranded in a “partitioned” area of the airport without water or food.
The reason for the emergency layover was reportedly issues with oxygen levels aboard the aircraft.
Nana Asante-Smith was on the flight returning from the holiday of a lifetime in Ghana when the plane was forced to land.
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Writing on Facebook about the ordeal Ms Asante-Smith wrote: “I walked to the back of the plane twice to ask the flight attendants what was really going on,
“They were kind and gentle, especially in the midst of my brewing anxiety attack. They reassured me that everything was just fine and that the oxygen was low in the cockpit.
“Nerve wrecking, but fine, because life happens and the unfortunate situation was not in Delta’s control.”
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However, it wasn’t until the plane landed on Terceira Island that confusion and chaos broke out.
Ms Asante-Smith continued: “We were directed to a partitioned section of the building without access to freely move around the airport because those with Ghanaian passports did not have the requisite visas.
“The crew members were shuttled to a hotel, not to be seen again. From that point, we never heard from or saw a Delta representative in any official capacity.”
According to Airports Data, the island’s modest Lajes Airport, which has just one terminal, has comparatively low yearly passenger volume, with only 680,000 travellers arriving and departing in 2022.
While there are a few flights to the United States and Canada, the majority of its flights are to other Portuguese airports and other European countries.
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Many passengers were inconvenienced due to the absence of Delta Air Lines workers at the airport, as the carrier does not operate flights to or from this location. With only six airlines serving Lajes Airport, the topic of who should be in charge of the tired passengers arose.
These travellers, who complained of being hungry and thirsty, wondered whether they could obtain food or beverages.
Additional passengers took to social media to raise Delta Air Lines’ attention to the manner they were treated at the airport.
Kiarundra Eggleston, for example, expressed her reservations about platform X claiming: “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.”
The Express has approached Delta for comment.
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