Travel troubles found hundreds of international travelers stuck at the airport, allegedly under threat of arrest, “and no one ever gave us an explanation.”
(Video Credit: Fox 35 Orlando)
Weary travelers didn’t know it yet, but when they arrived on a flight from London’s Heathrow Airport at Orlando International Airport in Florida, they still had roughly five hours remaining before they could officially enter the U.S. Though denied by airport officials, a baggage delay forced passengers from three Virgin Atlantic flights to wait to clear customs, “and no one was allowed to leave the room.”
According to a statement from the airline, Saturday’s troubles were caused by weather impacting operations for baggage handling.
“We’d like to apologize for the inconvenience caused to customers whose bags were delayed arriving into Orlando International Airport on June 27, due to adverse weather which affected ground handling operations,” said Virgin. “We worked closely with our airport and ground handling partners throughout, and all customers were reunited with their bags before leaving the airport.”
Speaking with the Orlando Sentinel, passenger Carol Wick, a Florida resident, said she’d “never seen anything like this … It was just the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced in my whole life and there’s no explanation.”
Attesting to the threat of arrest, Wick also told the Daily Mail, “No one attempted to leave as we were told very, very clearly and repeatedly no one was allowed to leave the room. Several other groups came through and got their baggage right away and left. It was only three Virgin Atlantic flights that were trapped.”
In its own statement on the incident impacting some 800 passengers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which holds jurisdiction at the airport for enforcing immigration, expressed, “CBP officers were present and prepared to process travelers. The timely delivery of baggage to the international arrivals hall is the responsibility of the airline.”
“All persons, baggage, and merchandise arriving in the United States are subject to CBP inspection,” the spokesperson continued. “CBP works in partnership with airport authorities and airlines to ensure efficient processing of travelers while maintaining security standards.”
Meanwhile, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority spokesperson Angela Starke stated, “We share travelers’ frustration with this experience and are working with our airline partners to understand what occurred and how similar situations, outside of weather, can be avoided.”
She further denied there were threats of arrest from the airport or Orlando Police Department pertaining to the passengers who were legally bound to their belongings in connection with entering the United States.
On that matter, Orlando attorney Albert Yonfa suggested to Fox 35 Orlando that the airport should have handed out “mishandled or lost baggage” forms to “legally separate” travelers from their bags, allowing them to leave the airport and return later to claim their belongings.
Saturday’s incident took place mere days before Virgin Atlantic officially transferred operations from the Orlando airport’s Terminal A to Terminal C as part of an effort to “help balance passenger traffic across the airport complex, providing a more predictable flow at the checkpoints, concessions, and other areas.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.