Liputan6.com, Jakarta Two passengers were desperate to smoke on board the plane, leaving hundreds of passengers trapped and stranded at the airport with nothing to do.
This drama occurred on a TUI Airways flight on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Cancun, Mexico, to London, England, on Tuesday (July 8), as reported by Stuff.
Advertisement
The incident was recounted by one of the passengers, Terry Lawrance, to SWNS media.
Initially, the pilot announced over the intercom that two passengers were caught smoking in the toilet while the plane was in the air.
If the two passengers did not stop smoking and did not heed the announcement, the pilot had to divert the flight.
Apparently, the two passengers did not heed the warning. Three hours later, the flight diverted to Bangor International Airport in Maine, United States (US) and landed at 21:30 local time.
It is suspected that the two smoking passengers were intoxicated, and both were removed.
Stranded at the airport
However, the pilot's decision to land his plane at Bangor International Airport had consequences. The plane was held up for five hours.
Then, when the plane was about to launch, the flight was held again.
"The plane started to glide again and we thought it was good. But then they said there was a problem with the flight plan, and we had to get off," Lawrance said.
The flight was eventually canceled as the crew ran out of time, and the airline sent a relief crew there.
The passengers were dropped off on the spot, and Lawrance described the airport as a military air base. Bangor International Airport itself is a joint civilian and military airport.
"We were there for over 12 hours. Everything was chaos. Everyone was fed up," said Lawrance.
He said the airport lounge felt like a battlefield.
Advertisement
Landed in London safely
Another passenger wrote on TUI Airways' complaint page that there was no communication and no compassion from the airline.
After the relief crew arrived, the plane was able to continue its journey, and the passengers landed in London safely.
TUI confirmed to People that the plane was diverted for safety reasons after some passengers on board behaved “disruptively”.
The airline added that an emergency flight was immediately arranged, but due to US immigration laws, passengers could not exit the terminal during the wait.
“This case is now with the UK authorities, and we are unable to comment further on the disruptive behavior of the passengers,” a TUI Airways spokesperson said.
The plane finally took off for London on Wednesday (July 9) at 3pm local time.
