06/23/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
Windsor Locks, CT – Passengers aboard an international flight with Virgin Atlantic Airways claim they were kept aboard a hot plane without food or water for over four hours at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, as reported by Fox News.
Passengers explained that Tuesday evening situation began after their plane was diverted from New Jersey’s airport on account of bad weather. The plane was traveling from London to New Jersey. Passengers claim they landed at approximately 8:20 p.m. and were kept on the plane until approximately 1 a.m., Wednesday.
Passengers told CNN that at least three people fainted while waiting to de-board. The plane was carrying 300 passengers and 14 crew members.
Virgin Atlantic’s London office acknowledged the incident, and told the Associated Press that Flight VS001 was diverted because of bad weather in the Newark area. The spokeswoman explained, “It was a situation that was beyond our control…There were weather conditions…Bradley had to get customs and immigration to the airport.”
The spokeswoman also stated that she believed passengers were kept on the plane for approximately three hours. She told reporters that planes have water fountains aboard, but she was unsure whether there was food left over from the in-flight meals.
An airport operations specialist explained the delay, citing customs as the issue. Ken Cast told reporters that Virgin is not one of the Connecticut airport’s carriers and the airline had to call in personnel to handle the passengers.
Cast stated, “Being an international flight, it’s not like you can let people wonder aimlessly.”
The new federal law that bans airlines form keeping passengers onboard waiting planes for more than three hours only applies to domestic flights. International airlines are not subject to the rule.
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