Flying is a necessary means of travel for many people, and that means inevitably dealing with delays, cancellations and other unfortunate situations, but what if you were forced to wait in a hot plane for six hours?
That’s exactly the nightmare that American Airlines passengers from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York City experienced on Sunday. Their flight to the JFK International Airport, which was supposed to take off at 1:07 p.m. ended up being delayed due to fuel tank problems.
A local reporter for The Charlotte Observer, Genna Contino, tweeted that the passengers were seated on the plane for three hours while crews attempted to repair the fuel tank only to have to switch planes in the end.
just sat on a plane with limited AC for three hours while they were fixing the fuel tank, turns out they can’t fix it and now we’re switching planes i——-
— genna (@GennaContino) July 24, 2022
Once the passengers loaded up on the new plane, their luck didn’t change much. They reportedly had to wait another three hours with no food or air conditioning, which prompted one passenger into a “mental breakdown.”
entering hour 6 of sitting on a plane with no AC, no food, no drink service. someone on the flight is having a mental breakdown. this is wild https://t.co/sqDT1OPYZ2
— genna (@GennaContino) July 24, 2022
The AC was reportedly turned off to “save fuel” while they were waiting on the tarmac. It was turned back on when people began “sobbing and having panic attacks.”
they turned it OFF to save fuel until people started sobbing and having panic attacks 🤠
— genna (@GennaContino) July 25, 2022
Andrew Tull, a spokesperson for American Airlines, explained to the New York Post that the delays were due to a mechanical issue then, later, due to lightning in the area.
“During that time the jet bridge remained attached and the forward boarding door remained open,” Tull said. “We know it can be frustrating when travel doesn’t go as planned, and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
Explaining why food was not served as passengers waited, the spokesperson said that a snack would have come “after a period of time” if the plane had left the gate.
The flight ended up taking off at 7:03 p.m.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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