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Delta Airlines is apologizing to hundreds of passengers for a travel nightmare that left them stuck on their planes overnight on the tarmac
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Two planes had taken off from Mexico last Thursday for Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta
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flight 1828 from Cabo San Lucas and flight 599 from Mexico City
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But due to bad weather, the flights were forced to land at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama around 1030 p.m. local time
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However, since Montgomery is a regional airport, not an international airport, the airport does not have any U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities or agents
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The passengers, 297 total, were forced to stay on their planes. A Delta spokesperson said, quote
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Flights from international points of origin must arrive at an airport with Customs and Border Protection staffing and facilities for processing
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This was not possible until early Friday morning when a special accommodation was reached with Montgomery Airport officials and CBP, end quote
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Passengers sat on their planes until about 5.30 the next morning, or roughly seven hours, before they were allowed in the terminal
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where they were confined to one gate area as Delta tried to arrange for a flight to Atlanta
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Lauren Forbes was on the plane from Cabo along with her boyfriend
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She spoke with WCVB in Boston. I was thinking, you know, if somebody has diabetes, what do we do
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There's no food here. I'm starving. I don't have diabetes. If somebody does, you know, heaven forbid
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Forbes says she and the other passengers waited several hours until about noon
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when they finally boarded a plane to Atlanta. Delta says it plans to refund each customer's ticket
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The airline's saying it fell short of how it serves and cares for its customers
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amid thunderstorms in the southeast U.S. For more unbiased updates, download the Straight Arrow News app
