Shocking! Passengers of TUI Airways flight to London get stranded at Maine for 17 hours; here's why
The report added that due to this, the passengers were stranded in a 'warzone' at a Maine airport for over 17 hours.
The incident took place on 8 July, report NYP, adding, this irked passengers who had no option but to wait for 17 hours at Maine airport due to an unplanned layover. 'Everybody was fed up,' NYP quoted UK native Terry Lawrance as saying to Southwest News Service.
Within an hour of taking off from Mexico's Cancun, the pilot of the TUI Airways flight came on the intercom and announced that two passengers had been 'smoking in the toilet' and he'd have to make an unscheduled landing if they persisted.
Recounting the incident, Lawrence said that the pair refused to desist and prompted the captain to put his money where his mouth was.
'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,' said Lawrence.
Right after entering Canadian airspace, flight tracking data on Flightradar24 depicted the plane turning back towards Maine.
When the flight landed around 9:30 pm (local time) at Maine, the two smokers were escorted off the plane. 'They were obviously drunk, and he basically assaulted his partner,' recalled Lawrance.
After this, the pilot told the passengers that they would soon take off after some paperwork was done. But nobody knew 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. Next thing, we're not going anywhere,' he said.
Lawrance added that the original crew had to deplane since they couldn't work the rest of the leg back to Gatwick, since they would be exceeding their legal working hours.
To sort this issue, a relief flight had to be dispatched from the UK to the US to ferry them to their destination.
In the meantime, the passengers had to disembark and stay in a cramped lounge while waiting for the relief flight to arrive.
Describing their temporary digs, Lawrance said, as NYP quoted, "It was like free-for-all for vultures. It was like a warzone in a lounge — rows and rows of beds. All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited.'
A video also showed 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.'
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a day ago
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Shocking! Passengers of TUI Airways flight to London get stranded at Maine for 17 hours; here's why
Amid several cases of flights being diverted after taking off, a TUI Airways flight – from Mexico's Cancun to London – was diverted to Maine following a pair of butt-huffing bozos puffing cigarettes on board, reported New York Post. The report added that due to this, the passengers were stranded in a 'warzone' at a Maine airport for over 17 hours. The incident took place on 8 July, report NYP, adding, this irked passengers who had no option but to wait for 17 hours at Maine airport due to an unplanned layover. 'Everybody was fed up,' NYP quoted UK native Terry Lawrance as saying to Southwest News Service. Within an hour of taking off from Mexico's Cancun, the pilot of the TUI Airways flight came on the intercom and announced that two passengers had been 'smoking in the toilet' and he'd have to make an unscheduled landing if they persisted. Recounting the incident, Lawrence said that the pair refused to desist and prompted the captain to put his money where his mouth was. '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,' said Lawrence. Right after entering Canadian airspace, flight tracking data on Flightradar24 depicted the plane turning back towards Maine. When the flight landed around 9:30 pm (local time) at Maine, the two smokers were escorted off the plane. 'They were obviously drunk, and he basically assaulted his partner,' recalled Lawrance. After this, the pilot told the passengers that they would soon take off after some paperwork was done. But nobody knew 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. Next thing, we're not going anywhere,' he said. Lawrance added that the original crew had to deplane since they couldn't work the rest of the leg back to Gatwick, since they would be exceeding their legal working hours. To sort this issue, a relief flight had to be dispatched from the UK to the US to ferry them to their destination. In the meantime, the passengers had to disembark and stay in a cramped lounge while waiting for the relief flight to arrive. Describing their temporary digs, Lawrance said, as NYP quoted, "It was like free-for-all for vultures. It was like a warzone in a lounge — rows and rows of beds. All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited.' A video also showed 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.'
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a day ago
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A passenger plane in the US was stranded for over 17 hours earlier this week after a couple were caught smoking in the bathroom mid-flight. On Tuesday (Jul 8), TUI Airways flight BY49, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, took off from Cancun, Mexico, but had to be diverted to Bangor International Airport in Maine, according to a report in New York Post. The plane landed at the airport at 9:30 pm local time. The couple smoking in the restroom were believed to be drunk and taken away, while the remaining passengers were told that the plane would take off as soon as the required paperwork was over. However, British passenger Terry Lawrance, 66, revealed that the passengers were forced to sit for another five hours. The original flight crew ended up not being able to continue as they would have exceeded their legal working hours. As a result, a relief flight had to be dispatched from the UK to the US to ferry them to their destination. The situation turned pear-shaped from here as passengers were stuffed in a cramped lounge, which Mr Lawrence said was the military airbase section of the airport. "It was like free-for-all for vultures. It was like a warzone in a lounge, rows and rows of beds," said Mr Lawrence. "All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited," he added. It wasn't until 3 pm 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. Social media reacts Reacting to the troubles faced by the passengers, social media users urged the authorities to take strict action against the couple, while others questioned if the pilots could have reacted differently. "Did the smokers get arrested? Will they be made to pay for the fuel and other expenses incurred by the airline? Will they have to compensate the passengers who missed their connections?" said one user, while another added: "TSA should add cigarettes to the confiscation list." A third commented: "They should've chastised them, and have them arrested at the gate. Not ground the whole plane. Back in the day people chain-smoked on planes."
