Delta Passengers Stranded at Remote Military Base in Canada, Slept in Bunkers After Emergency Landing
Local officials in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador helped arrange accommodations for the 270 people on board, the airline confirmed to PEOPLE
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Delta Air Lines Boeing 737A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to make an unplanned landing in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada due to a mechanical issue, leaving 270 passengers stranded overnight at a remote military base.
Delta flight 135 departed from Amsterdam on Sunday and was heading to Detroit when the plane was diverted to a town called Happy Valley-Goose Bay out of “an abundance of caution,” a spokesperson for the airline confirmed to PEOPLE.
There was an issue with the deicing on one engine that posed a danger, one of the passengers told CBS News. Another passenger recounted to Fox2 Detroit, they recall the plane took a "sharp turn" several hours into the journey.
The town where they touched down, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is located about 1,300 miles northeast of the plane's original destination of Detroit, and about 540 miles north of the closest U.S. border in Maine. With just 8,000 residents, it's the largest population center in the region thanks to the presence of the biggest military air base in the Northeast: CFB Goose Bay, which belongs to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
After safely landing and deplaning passengers at the base, the airline worked with local officials to arrange accommodations. The best option, they determined, was to have the 270 passengers spend the night in military barracks, where they were given food and water.
"It honestly felt like a hotel. It wasn’t too bad. We had soap, water, everything," passenger Tony Santoro told Fox2.
An aircraft was sent to the Canadian province to rescue the passengers, however adverse weather conditions led to the flight crew timing out before they could depart back to Detroit. A second plane arrived Monday morning and the passengers were able to safely head home.
A spokesperson for the airline said in a statement to PEOPLE: “Delta flight 135 operating from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 10 experienced a mechanical issue and diverted to Goose Bay, Newfoundland Sunday afternoon out of an abundance of caution.”
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They added, “Crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions at the Goose Bay airport causing the airport to suspend operations. Delta sent additional aircrafts to Goose Bay to bring customers to their final destination Monday. We apologize to customers for this inconvenience.”
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