May 11, 2015
A British Airways flight from London to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport was diverted to Philadelphia International Airport, where passengers were left stranded for hours early Saturday morning, CBS2 reports.
The flight, carrying 239 passengers, was held on the runway in Philly for three hours until the airline finally canceled the flight due to fog in New York.
After being let off the plane around 2 a.m. Saturday, passengers spent another three hours in a holding area waiting for customs to open. Photos show passengers sleeping on the floor at the airport.
Still holding it down in the refugee holding zone at Philadelphia airport yall! pic.twitter.com/Rx5vyastYu
— DEAN BEIN (@DeanieMan_TPS) May 9, 2015
Among the passengers was actor Jeremy Piven, who took to social media to express his frustration.
In a tweet that has since been deleted, the star wrote: "@British_Airways holding us for a total of 7 hours on the ground when immigration opens…holding us all hostage."
“The captain of flight BA183 to New York decided to divert the aircraft to Philadelphia due to bad weather at JFK Airport," British Airways said in a statement. "We’re very sorry for the delay to our customers’ journey, but safety is always our top priority. Our staff looked after them, rebooking those with connections and arranging bus transfers to New York. All of our customers are now on their way to their destinations.”
Several passengers complained about a lack of communication from the airline.
“I’ll be contacting Customs immediately," Sen. Chuck Schumer told CBSPhilly. "There ought to be some people from Customs on duty so in case there’s a diversion, they can go there. For people to have to sleep in the Philadelphia airport simply because a couple of Customs people weren’t there doesn’t make sense.”
Read more from CBS2.
