Holy cow! Talk about a flight delay!

[spinbaby]

This is a few days old so I don't know if it's been discussed here, but this is the most nightmarish flight delay I've ever heard of .

Passengers Aboard Flight Delayed 18 Hours

SEATTLE - In an ordeal that made some passengers feel like hostages, about 300 people aboard an Amsterdam-to-Seattle flight were delayed for 18 hours on the ground, unable to leave the plane for much of that time, as food and water ran out and the toilets stopped working.

Northwest Airlines Flight 33 finally arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Wednesday morning, 28 hours after takeoff, after being held up by a nightmarish combination of fog, work regulations and mechanical trouble

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041229/ap_on_re_us/delayed_flight_1

[SheepyMcSheepster]

1. i couldn't do it

i would go crazy if i had to sit on a plane for 18 hours.

i am suprised people didn't become more unruley.

[Bunny]

2. Why is an "international airport" not equipped to screen international

passengers?

<snip>
Passengers initially were not allowed to get off the plane because the Grant County International Airport was not equipped to screen international travelers. The passengers were finally allowed off Tuesday after officials temporarily cleared a terminal and posted sheriff's deputies at the entrances.
<snip>

I have control issues, and I would have gone nuts from claustrophobia and lack of self-determination. I would be one of the people being carried off the plane by medical personnel!

[LynzM]

10. Because all that 'international' means, I believe

Is that they have runways equipped to handle planes of that size. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are equipped customs-wise to deal with that. Therefore, you have a plane that can land, but no one can leave. Better than crashing, I suppose.

[Bunny]

11. Yeah, better than crashing, for sure.

But wouldn't you think they'd have come to the decision to remove and segregate these passengers a lot sooner than they did? I mean, it's not rocket science, is it? Toilets will clog, food will run out, people will freak out - it seems pretty obvious to me. Why it took them 18 hours to figure this out is mind-boggling!

[BlueFlu]

13. "International" designation has nothing to do with plane sizes.

Under Section 1644a (b) (1), 19 United States Code, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to ``...designate ports of entry in the United States for civil aircraft arriving in the United States from a place outside the United States and property transported on that aircraft...."

http://www.faa.gov/arp/pdf/5000-5c.pdf

However, airports can use the word "International" in their name, though the practice is discouraged. Most of these airports are trying to puff themselves up in a case of "airport envy".

Grant County, however, is designated by the Customs Service as a User Fee International Airport, and has international entry and landing rights.

[Bunny]

14. So, then why don't they have a Customs department? n/t

[underpants]

3. I don't think I would do to well in that situation

sounds like a nightmare.

[terrya]

4. Two of the passengers were on the Today show the other day...

to talk about that horrible experience. They said that Northwest offered them $200 travel vouchers for having to endure that experience.

Excuse me? No food or water? No working toliets?

$200???!! FUCK that.

[alarimer]

5. Isn't that like false imprisonment?

I mean, not being allowed off the plane is just ridiculous.

[n2mark]

17. No toilets?

The minute someome would tell me theer are no toilets, that is when I would have to go.

[Bunny]

6. Here is an article about a similar incident in Detroit.

It happened about six years ago. This is kind of long, but it's a fascinating study on how people react to situations like this.


<snip>
The trapped pilots, in fact, were suggesting various avenues of escape. One was to concentrate what ground workers there were on just a few gates, pull the planes in, let the people off, and back the planes out again, with crew and luggage still aboard. They thought of using the nearby hangars, and of using other airlines' gates. "Forget protocol," Capt. Stabler urged over gate radio.

Sharon Friedman had settled down since her tears, but she faced a new quandary. Her five-year-old boy was thirsty. But she was holding back the one remaining bottle of water she had in case she ran out of formula for her three-month-old daughter, Shayna. It hurt to deprive one child over the other. But Ms. Friedman now feared that they would have to spend the night on the plane.

In Row 9, Seat D, Christina Wade, the real-estate agent, had been growing increasingly anxious. She was obsessing on the obvious fact that few planes were moving. She'd had a couple of Bacardi and orange juices. She snapped.

"I've had enough of this!" she screamed. "I have to get off this plane. I'm going to open this door!" Crying hysterically, she put on a cashmere pants-and-sweater set over her shorts and T-shirt and gathered a credit card, her cigarettes and her cell phone. She prepared to pull the emergency-exit lever next to her seat and leap into the night. "No, don't do it!" her husband, John, urged. "No! No!" some passengers pleaded. Others made plans to follow her out the door.
<snip>



http://www.aasfe.org/carey.html

[warrens]

8. Notice it was Northwerst both times

And that's not a typo. Worst airline in the world. I refuse to get on their planes.

[spinbaby]

15. I've never had a problem with Northwest

But I'll admit I'm having second thoughts about going to Japan with them again.

[MsAnthropy]

16. You are correct about Northwest

The most corrupt, evil corporation in existence from personal experience.

[Lisa0825]

18. Interesting article! (nt)

[0007]

7. Been there! And it isn't fun, I hate fucking airlines and airports

with a passion.

[cmf]

9. Our plane was diverted from Seattle the same day

Fortunately it was a domestic flight and we were only diverted to Portland. They let us off the plane, but at first they wouldn't let you back on if you got off, so only people who could arrange alternate travel got off. Then they finally got a gate agent to come in so that they could process boarding passes. Our toilets had stopped working, too, so it was good we could finally get off. The Portland airport has some pretty good food options, too, so all in all it wasn't that bad (other than the sheer amount of time it took for us to get back to Seattle). I really felt for the people on that flight!

[TXDemGal]

12. Being "stuck" on a plane for a long time

is NOT fun. My husband and I were enroute from Italy to the U.S. on 9/11/2001 and ended up stuck on our plane in Newfoundland for about 30 hours.

There were ~40 international jets at the airport in Gander, NF, and the Canadian government decided to process them for deplaning and immigration in the order they landed. We landed next to last.

Thankfully the flight was about half full; otherwise I'm sure we would have experienced unoperative toilets. As it was, there was very little food (which just highlights the necessity to pack some edibles in your carry on baggage) and drink, but we survived. Which is more than you can say for some who flew on that day.

[ohio_liberal]

19. 30 hours without a cigarette

I would've killed someone