American Airlines passengers left stranded in BERMUDA for 20 HOURS after plane makes emergency landing
HAMILTON, BERMUDA: Passengers were left stranded for 20 hours in Bermuda after their flight from Miami to London had to divert due to a possible mechanical issue on Monday, August 29. Shortly after taking off from Miami International Airport, the flight landed instead on the British island territory in the North Atlantic.
The American Airlines flight AA83 was unable to continue its journey due to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s mandated crew rest requirements. Passengers were refrained from leaving LF Wade International Airport in St George’s due to the country’s Covid-19 regulations.
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According to Metro 50, passengers were provided with food after almost 10 hours. Jonathan Lo, a musical director at Northern Ballet from Birmingham, was on the flight with his fiancée Laura Day. The couple were returning after a long trip, and had dozed off when the captain announced there was ‘an indication of overheating electronics’.
Jonathan said, "A little later on it was backed up by a further announcement to say that, actually, they could smell smoke in the aircraft cockpit," adding, "All was going quite smoothly until we got into the terminal."
He said that all passengers had to sleep at the airport because the flight would not depart until at least 5 am the next day. The staff at the airport provided them with blankets and pillows but passengers were angry since breakfast was not served to them until 12.30 pm.
Jonathan said, "That’s a whole whopping 10 hours after people have landed with children and were really hungry. We feel abandoned by the airline really… literally in the middle of the Atlantic."
He added, "When we landed, we didn’t know how long it was going to be… had we been kept updated regularly, we would have been able to make plans and I’m sure the airport staff would have been able to make plans quicker."
Danny Wells, an IT technician, was on his way back from a vacation in Miami when the incident occured. He said, "We have had to take an extra two days holiday from work as we were due to work this morning but will not be able to work tomorrow either."
Danny added, "There are rows of people asleep on the floor, the lights have been on almost all night and everyone is freezing because the air con is on so they had to get everyone’s blanket from the plane."
Meanwhile, American Airlines released a statement saying, "American Airlines flight 38, from Miami to London, diverted to Bermuda this morning after a possible mechanical issue. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans, and we apologize for the trouble this has caused."