Nearly 300 passengers on a Delta flight from Madrid to New York were stranded for about 30 hours this week after their plane made an emergency landing on the remote island of Terceira in the Azores.
Flight 127 was diverted to a U.S. Air Force base in Lajes, part of the Azores, a Portuguese island chain in the Atlantic, Sunday after passengers heard a loud boom.
"People were crying. There were people praying. Nobody really knew what was happening," passenger Marc Viscardi told WABC.
The Airbus A330 landed safely, but passengers were forced to deplane and wait on the island for a replacement for nearly 30 hours.
A Delta spokesperson told multiple news outlets that a suspected engine issue forced the flight to divert to remote islands off Portugal. The replacement flight ultimately arrived at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport the next day.
The flight carried 282 passengers and 13 crew. Delta offered meals and lodging, though some passengers made their own arrangements.
"In the absence of any information coming from Delta or anyone at the airline, we kind of took matters into our own hands," Viscardi told the outlet.
The Independent has contacted Delta for comment.
"The flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement to multiple news outlets.
