Flyers stranded at airport for 17 hours due to smoking bozos
Passengers were stranded in a 'warzone' at a Maine airport for over 17 hours after their flight was diverted due to a pair of butt-huffing bozos puffing cigarettes on board.
3 'It was like a warzone in a lounge — rows and rows of beds,' passenger Terry Lawrance said while painting the dismal scene in Bangor, Maine (pictured).
Terry Lawrance / SWNS
Advertisement
'Everybody was fed up,' UK native Terry Lawrance, 66, told Southwest News Service of the unplanned layover, which occurred July 8 on a TUI Airways flight from Cancun, Mexico, to London, UK.
The aircraft had been flying for about an hour when the pilot came on the intercom and announced that two passengers had been 'smoking in the toilet' and that he'd have to make an unscheduled landing if they persisted, Lawrance recalled.
Unfortunately, the pair refused to desist, prompting the captain to put his money where his mouth was.
Advertisement
'About three hours later, around the border with Canada and he came on to let us know that the plane was being diverted to Bangor, Maine,' recounted Lawrance.
Tracking data on Flightradar24 depicts the plane turning back towards Maine, right after entering Canadian airspace.
3 The passengers continued smoking despite a warning from the pilot.
Evgenia Parajanian – stock.adobe.com
They landed around 9:30 p.m. that evening, after which the two smokers were escorted off the plane. 'They were obviously drunk, and he basically assaulted his partner,' recalled Lawrance.
Advertisement
The pilot said they'd be on their way after some paperwork was done, not knowing that their short pitstop would turn into the layover from hell.
'We were sat on the plane on the ground for five hours — the plane started taxing again and we thought 'great' and then they said there was a problem with flight plan, and we have to get off,' he said. 'Next thing, we're not going anywhere.'
3 'It was like free-for-all for vultures,' said Lawrance (pictured).
Terry Lawrance / SWNS
According to Lawrance, the original crew had to deplane as they couldn't work the rest of the leg back to Gatwick as they'd be exceeding their legal working hours.
Advertisement
As a result, a relief flight had to be dispatched from the UK to the US to ferry them to their destination.
That's when 'it all went pear-shaped,' the traveler recalled.
The passengers subsequently had to disembark and stay in a cramped lounge — which Lawrance believed was the military airbase section of the airport — while waiting for the relief flight to arrive.
'It was like free-for-all for vultures,' Lawrance said, describing their temporary digs. 'It was like a warzone in a lounge — rows and rows of beds.'
He added, 'All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited.'
Accompanying footage shows the stranded passengers lying side by side on mattresses like a scene out of a refugee camp.
'We were there for over 12 hours,' Lawrance lamented. 'We waited six or seven hours before we were offered a drink.'
Advertisement
It wasn't until 3 p.m. the next day that they finally departed — a harrowing 17 and a half hours since they'd touched down in Maine.
Thankfully, all the passengers arrived safely in London.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Man transforms 128-year-old railway carriage into unique stay that guests 'adore'
A retired wallpaper designer has turned a 19th-century train carriage into a luxury Airbnb stay at a former railway station. Nigel Brooke, 68, lives in an old train station in England where he's restored a Great Western Railway carriage from 1895. Although trains stopped running through the area in the 1950s, guests today can book a night in the vintage carriage for about $260 thanks to Brooke's $35,000 restoration project. "It is beautiful, and it's quite unique here," Brooke said, as news agency SWNS reported. The exterior has been repainted using original colors sourced from historic railway drawings, while the interior features period wallpaper, a bed and a stove. "I designed all that interior decor, but it was led by original pieces that I found during the restoration," Brooke said. The carriage originally ran on a metropolitan railway line before it was decommissioned in 1940. "It was just chocolate brown everywhere," he told SWNS. "It became a workman's carriage, static somewhere." "It is beautiful, and it's quite unique here." Brooke bought the carriage for about $10,000. He had it transported by road to its current location, he said. It now stands on concrete walls built to align it with the station platform, offering step-free access for guests. "One side was covered in tin - that must have been put there in the '50s or '40s to protect one side," he said. Despite the age of the structure, much of the original oak frame was in good condition. "What I had to do was take each piece off carefully that was rotten and replicate it and rebuild it, using the original bits," Brooke told SWNS. "It's quite early, 1895, for a carriage - it's getting toward disintegration at that age if they've not been restored," he added. "This will be good for a long time now." Brooke originally bought the station in the 1980s when he was in his 30s. He said he was fortunate to find such a historic property. "I was quite lucky to acquire such a nice old historic building," he said. The Airbnb offering has proved popular with guests who are drawn to its charm and railway heritage, SWNS noted. Brooke is now planning to expand his offering by converting the station's old waiting room into an additional guest space with an ensuite bathroom. "I may turn one of the waiting rooms into an Airbnb with an ensuite, so when people stay in this carriage, if they've got friends they can stay in the waiting room at the station house," he said. "People absolutely adore it. There's a lot of history here," Brooke told SWNS. SWNS reported that the restored carriage is already drawing interest from travelers eager to experience a piece of the past in vintage luxury. Travel
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Canadian permanent residents will now have to pay 'visa integrity fee' to enter U.S. Here's what it is
Included in the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was recently enacted, is a provision about some travellers having to pay $250, a so-called 'visa integrity fee,' to enter the country. The act includes a plan to secure the U.S. border and gives Homeland Security the resources it needs, per the White House. It promises to provide more funding for ICE agents, for detention centres, as well as funds for completing the U.S.'s border wall. The visa integrity fee is meant to go toward supporting 'enforcement and administrative efforts related to U.S. visa policy and border security,' USA Today reported. Another travel policy that was previously announced by the Trump administration, the alien registration requirement for foreigners, was later updated to exempt most Canadians from being fingerprinted. Currently, in most cases, Canadians do not require visitor, business, transit or other visas to enter the United States from Canada, according to the Canadian federal government. Here's what to know so far. Who must pay the visa integrity fee? The visa integrity fee applies to 'any alien issued a nonimmigrant visa at the time of such issuance,' according to the act. It must be paid in addition to any other fee authorized by law. The fee is currently set at $250, although it can be increased, and will be adjusted for inflation. 'Attaching an additional $250 fee has the very real potential to significantly reduce the number of people that can afford to do that,' managing director of programs and strategy at the American Immigration Council Jorge Loweree told USA Today. 'There are hundreds of thousands of people who receive visas and permission from the Department of State to come to the U.S. every single month temporarily.' Do Canadians have to pay this fee? In most cases, no. Canadian citizens can usually stay in the U.S. for 6 months without a visa, but there are some exceptions, which are listed on the U.S. Department of State website. However, permanent residents of Canada do require a nonimmigrant visa and will have to pay the fee. Can the visa integrity fee be waived? No. According to the bill, it will not be waived or reduced. However, the secretary of Homeland Security can provide a reimbursement if the person has complied with all of the conditions of the nonimmigrant visa. This means the person has not tried to extend the period of admission and has left the United States no later than five days after the visa's expiry. A person can also be reimbursed if they were granted an extension of nonimmigrant status or if their status changed to 'a lawful permanent resident.' 'The intent behind this refund provision is to incentivize compliance with U.S. immigration laws by treating the $250 as a refundable security deposit — essentially rewarding those who follow the rules,' lawyer Steven Brown wrote online. Brown is a partner at U.S. immigration law firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC based in Houston. When will the visa integrity fee go into effect? Although the act has been signed into law, it is not immediately clear when the fee will be implemented. In his blog post, Brown wrote there was no effective date. How will this affect travel to the United States? As well as the visa integrity fee, there were also other fees included in the act. U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman issued a statement to Congress, calling the fees 'foolish.' 'Raising fees on lawful international visitors amounts to a self-imposed tariff on one of our nation's largest exports: international travel spending,' said Freeman. 'These fees are not reinvested in improving the travel experience and do nothing but discourage visitation at a time when foreign travellers are already concerned about the welcome experience and high prices.' Forbes reported that U.S. tourism officials 'argue that anything that makes it more difficult or expensive to visit the United States can be a deterrent to large numbers of visitors.' Tensions between the U.S. and Canada are already high amid an ongoing trade war and rhetoric about Canada becoming the 51st state. Jordan Peterson's house in Toronto up for sale as he and his wife relocate to the U.S. Border bitterness is devastating cross-border tourism. But one Canadian city is bucking the trend Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Skipping Time Off? You're Not Alone
Don, a Metro Vancouver-based public service worker, has been saving up vacation days. The Tyee has agreed to identify Don only by first name to protect his employment. He said that for most of his career, his contract offered three weeks of paid vacation per year. Every other year, he would use that time to take off most of December and travel, Don said. After working the same job for years, Don earned a fourth week of paid vacation per year. But instead of taking that extra week off, Don said, for the past three years he has been banking vacation days in case he needs — or wants — to stay off work longer. '[Saving extra days] gives me a comfortable cushion on either side,' he said. While Don is banking vacation time, many other Canadians are leaving vacation hours on the table for more pressing reasons. Surveys show most Canadians don't take all their paid time off, citing a variety of reasons including economic uncertainty and banking vacation days for a big holiday. But the top reason respondents picked was to save time off for emergencies. The polls highlight how many Canadian workers — especially those at the beginning of their careers — don't have enough paid time off and sick leave. But missing those days off can ramp up stress and lead to burnout, a human resources expert says. It's an issue Don said he remembers well from skipping time off earlier in his career. 'It gets to be a bit of a grind,' Don said. 'I don't see how people do it without completely destroying their lives and burning out.' Research suggests Canadians are not taking full advantage of paid vacation time. A 2023 survey by ADP Canada found 31 per cent of Canadians surveyed took all their allotted vacation time, while another 32 per cent took less than half. Nearly a third of respondents said they planned to cancel or put off travel due to the high cost of living. Another study published by travel company Expedia last year found only 45 per cent of Canadians polled used all their annual vacation time. B.C. employment standards entitle both full-time and part-time workers to two weeks of paid vacation after a year of employment. Employees can't skip taking vacation to receive that pay. Still, the Expedia poll found 58 per cent of Canadians said they were 'vacation deprived' and just over a fifth of respondents reported working a year or more between taking vacations. The survey, which polled 11,580 respondents from across North America, Europe and Asia, asked respondents why they were leaving time on the table. Like Don, one in five Canadians surveyed said they were saving those hours to take a longer trip. Meanwhile, 22 per cent of respondents said they were hoarding time off in case of an emergency. This was the most common reason to leave time on the table. The answer suggests Canadians are rationing their time off instead of taking a break. More than a third of all Canadians don't have paid sick leave, Statistics Canada data shows, especially younger Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, 39.8 per cent of men and 41.8 per cent of women aged 15 to 24 — excluding students — reported having access to paid sick leave. Sick leave coverage increases in the next age bracket, with 66.3 per cent of men and 69.5 per cent of women aged 25 to 34 reporting having access to paid sick leave. The study did not report data for non-binary employees. But time off for relaxation may be sorely needed, said Hilda Gan, president and chief people officer of the Markham, Ontario-based human resources firm People Bright Consulting Inc. She said she understands some people skip time off because they are stressed about money, while other people find it difficult to take a rest. Still, she said, it's important for workers to find ways to take breaks. 'People need time away from work,' she said. 'When you don't get sufficient time off, you're not switching your mindset, you're not resting emotionally, physically and mentally, and that can lead to a lot of extra stress.' A 2023 Statistics Canada survey found just over 4.1 million Canadians — more than a fifth of all working Canadians — reported feeling high or very high work-related stress. The leading causes? About 24 per cent of respondents cited heavy workload and 16 per cent cited struggling with work-life balance. Gan said people who work remotely or put in most of their hours from home particularly struggle with work-life balance. She added definitive breaks can help employees manage that stress. 'People don't have that time to refresh,' she said. 'Vacation is a much more definitive break than going home each night.' Time off doesn't have to mean travel, Gan said. She suggested taking time off at home — often called a 'staycation' — or finding other ways to take time off. 'It's like any muscle; you need to use it,' she said. 'That continuous work mentality without de-stressing and resetting leads to burnout.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
