After two flights from Mexico were diverted to an airport in Alabama without customs, passengers were stuck inside the planes overnight.
The two Delta flights — Flight 1828 from Cabo San Lucas and Flight 599 from Mexico City — were redirected from their destination of Atlanta to the Montgomery Regional Airport due to weather risks on Thursday, April 10, local Alabama outlet AL.com reported.
However, the Montgomery airport has no customs and thus could not facilitate international travelers — forcing the nearly 300 passengers to remain on board the planes on the tarmac all night.
A Delta spokesperson wrote in a statement to PEOPLE, “We sincerely apologize to our customers for this experience. We fell short of how we aspire to serve and care for our customers amid thunderstorms in the Southeast U.S. Thursday evening.” We are reaching out to each customer with a full refund of their booking.”
Both flights landed around 10:30 p.m. local time, and passengers were held on board the aircrafts until after 5 a.m., at which time they were allowed to enter the regional airport. The passengers were confined and guarded inside, Boston-bound passenger Lauren Forbes, who was on board one of the planes when it was diverted, told WCVB.
“I guess the law is that if there’s no customs at the airport, you are literally stuck on that airplane,” she said to the Boston news station.
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The Montgomery Regional Airport’s site stated flights were back up and running after 4 a.m., AL.com reported.
The nearby Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport — just over 100 miles away — has customs but wasn’t a feasible option for the diverted planes because of intense storms.
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