Delta passengers dumped on remote island and told to ‘be grateful’ plane didn’t crash | US | News

Delta Air Lines passengers endured a horrendous experience over the weekend when Flight 157, en route from Ghana to New York, was diverted to the remote island of Terceira in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean due to a “mechanical issue with a backup oxygen system”.

While the passengers were relieved to have avoided a crash, their subsequent ordeal on the island left them frustrated and angry.

Upon landing on Terceira Island, the 215 passengers were ushered into a “partitioned section” of Lajes Airport, where they found themselves stranded for over 12 hours with little food and no updates from airline staff.

Passengers took to social media to voice their discontent.

One such passenger, Nana Asante-Smith, described the situation to Insider as a reckless disregard for human life and well-being.

Asante-Smith and other passengers recounted the difficulties they faced during their prolonged stay at the island airport.

They claimed that they had to resort to drinking water from bathroom faucets until a cafe finally opened later in the day.

Kiarundra Eggleston posted a tweet on X saying “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.”

Sarkodie, a famous Ghanaian rapper was flying to the US to perform in Detroit, which he missed due to the emergency landing.

“[Delta] didn’t have the courtesy to update us on exactly what was happening, sat at the airport for about 6 hours,” he wrote on X. “No compensation nothing and our bags [are] still on the island.”

Adding to the frustration, Delta staff were reportedly whisked away to a hotel, leaving passengers feeling abandoned.

Asante-Smith emphasized, “We were abandoned by Delta and treated like encroaching roaches by airport representatives on Terceira Islands.”

Airport representatives allegedly told upset passengers not to start a “revolution”.

After enduring a half-day stay in the cramped island airport, passengers were eventually put on a flight to JFK Airport in New York.

However, upon arrival, they were left to navigate the cumbersome process of seeking reimbursements and restitution for the distressing experience they had endured.

Delta Air Lines responded to the situation by issuing refunds to the affected passengers, though some passengers have reported delays in receiving their compensation. The airline explained that the diversion to Terceira was out of “an abundance of caution”.

Delta attributed the delays in JFK to poor weather conditions on the East Coast that weekend, which caused airline staff to be swamped with requests.

The airline assured passengers that their bags were sent on their original aircraft to JFK.

Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews