It may bring back memories of the 9/11 Gander landing that inspired the Broadway musical "Come From Away" but another plane recently had to land on a Canadian military base after a Delta Air Lines (DAL) -) flight going back to Detroit from Amsterdam ran into a mechanical issue while flying over Newfoundland.
The Dec. 10 Delta Flight 135 was diverted to Happy Valley-Goose Bay — a small Labrador town of just over 8,000 people that is used as a military base by Canada's Air Force.
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As passenger Shikha Joshi relayed through her Instagram (META) -) stories, 270 passengers aboard the flight were told that the plane would be making an emergency landing in Goose Bay out of "an abundance of caution" after the de-icing tool for one of the engines started acting up.
'Delta is looking for accommodations for us all...'
The passengers had initially waited on the tarmac for seven hours before being able to board a new plane but delays had exceeded the time flight crews are legally allowed to be on the job — in the U.S., crew duty periods are set at 14 hours and may not exceed nine hours for flights with a single pilot.
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“Boarded a new plane after waiting 7+ hours, waited an hour after boarding for take off only to hear that the crew and pilot have finished their allotted hours of flying and need to rest now for 10-12 hours," Joshi, who was on the flight with her four-year-old son, wrote in the story. "Now Delta is looking for accommodations for us all."
Delta also confirmed to media outlets that "crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions at the Goose Bay airport causing the airport to suspend operations."
Passenger description: 'It honestly felt like a hotel'
As the area has very few hotels that may not even operate at this time of year, the travelers were housed in the Canadian military's barracks overnight before a new flight was available. Weather in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay area is currently in the 20s.
Town officials and the military also helped provide the stranded travelers food and water until the a new flight became available the morning of Dec. 11. Some of the travelers said they were given sandwiches and treats from Tim Hortons, Canada's beloved national donut chain.
"It honestly felt like a hotel," passenger Tony Santoro described to a suburban Detroit television station. "It wasn't too bad. We had soap, water, everything."
A bus eventually came to pick the passengers up for the rescue flight and the passengers made it back to Detroit before a winter storm came down upon the area in what ended up being 24 hours after their departure from Amsterdam.
Delta ended up apologizing for the unforeseen situation and told the affected travelers that they would receive some compensation for the long delay. In the U.S., airlines that face delays of more than four hours for international flights can be required to compensate passengers up to $1,550 per one-way ticket, but this Department of Transportation (DOT) rule generally does not apply to flights delayed due to inclement weather or mechanical issues outside the airline's control.
