Last week, a Delta Air Lines 767-300 traveling from Ghana to New York diverted to a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean due to a mechanical issue. What stranded passengers were purportedly told on the ground is quite eye-opening. Now Ghana has promised an investigation into the latest incident with an aging Delta jet.
After Delta 767-300 Diverts To Remote Island, Ghana Vows Investigation
On September 8, 2023, Delta Air Lines flight 157 from Accra (ACC) to New York (JFK) diverted to the remote Atlantic island of Praia da Vitória (TER), part of the Portuguese Azores. The reason given for the diversion was low oxygen levels in the flight deck (cockpit), though one flight attendant later told passengers that oxygen on the entire plane was compromised.
At 10,873 feet, the runway was ideally suited for the Delta 767, but Delta had no ground staff present and airport officials were left in a difficult position dealing with the passengers onboard, many of whom did not have proper visas to enter Portugal.
Passengers were instructed to call Delta for updates, but those without elite status faced six-hour hold times:
I tried calling and it said I have a 6 hour wait
— Kiaundra Eggleston (Smith) (@KiaundraSmith) September 9, 2023
Not surprisingly, many passengers became impatient:
— Kiaundra Eggleston (Smith) (@KiaundraSmith) September 9, 2023
(though I am not sure what ground staff there were supposed to do to get them moving again…)
Indignant passengers were purportedly admonished by ground staff to “be grateful that they allowed us to be here and our plane didn’t crash in the sea” and warned to start a “revolution.”
Ouch.
This female rep told us we should be grateful that they allowed us to be here and our plane didn’t crash in the sea pic.twitter.com/AwOR2jPp2I
— Kiaundra Eggleston (Smith) (@KiaundraSmith) September 9, 2023
Another passenger account on Facebook:
When we first spoke with the airport representatives, they informed us that a plane from Boston would arrive by 2:15pm and we would be fed around 11am or 12pm. Around 11:30am, we learned that we would no longer be fed because according to an airport representative, Delta had informed them that we had already eaten in advance of our landing a little before 6:00am. We had no other access to food. In response to this befuddling update, a gentlemen asked about complimentary water bottles. One of the airport representatives, a woman wearing a white shirt and wearing glasses, told the gentleman that we could drink water from the bathroom faucets.
Nice.
This same passenger blamed the poor treatment of passengers on their back skin color:
We were abandoned by Delta and treated like encroaching roaches by airport representatives on Terceira Islands. Understand me clearly and unequivocally when I say, that if this situation had befallen over 200+ white passengers flying from a European country, their reality would have been very different from ours.
I tend to think the more difficult operational hurdles of diverting to a remote island when many passengers lacked visas to enter is the more likely explanation, but I understand her point of view.
Ghana Will Investigate, Has Faulted Delta In Past
Even though the incident occurred outside the air space of Ghana, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has promised to look into the incident:
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has initiated communication with Delta Airlines [sic] and other relevant authorities to gather information and insights regarding the emergency landing.
As the regulatory body overseeing air transport in Ghana, the GCAA underscores its unwavering commitment to upholding public safety and security in the aviation industry. The authority is dedicated to working diligently with all stakeholders to maintain and enhance the safety and confidence of air travel within and connected to Ghana.
Last year, Ghana banned a specific Delta 767-300 (tail number N195DN) from operating Delta’s Accra route, citing frequent mechanical issues with the aircraft. The government of Ghana has blamed Delta for using “old” aircraft to serve Accra and asked Delta to cease and desist using all 767-300s on the route, a request Delta has not granted.
While the GCAA chose the diplomatic path, many in Ghana are ripping Delta for “deliberately” putting them in danger with “broken” aircraft.
> Read More:
- Influencer Recklessly Claims “My Plane Ran Out Of Fuel Over The Atlantic Ocean” After Delta Pilot Makes Sensible Decision To Return To JFK
- Ghana Bans A Delta 767-300 From Flying To Accra
- Bizarre Delta Air Lines Ghana Flight Prompts Formal Complaint, Threat Of Lawsuit
- Ghana Considers Banning All Aircraft Older Than 20 Years From Its Airspace
CONCLUSION
I’m not sure what Delta could have done better beyond trying to ensure passengers on the ground had enough to eat and drink. But this latest incident marks one in a growing list of Delta 767-300 incidents on the New York – Accra route.
While everyone should indeed be grateful there were no injuries onboard, it is not unreasonable to wonder whether it may be time for a different aircraft for transatlantic travel.
image: Delta
I know that there are a ton of guidelines that dictate ETOPS and how these types of situations are handled, but I am not aware of what (if any) regulations exist for these types of emergencies. I’d love to hear the findings of this particular incident and if anyone did anything wrong or if this situation was handled by all parties as best as it could have been based upon international aviation regulations, etc.
A look at a globe does not show much between Ghana and USA . Perhaps the Ghana people would do better to travel by BA to London , and thence to JFK .
Maybe, since Delta is using older planes on this route, they should contractually arrive at some kind of content plan with remote diversion airports. Doesn’t seem like that’d cost too much, it would be cheaper than buying new planes, no?
I think situations like this would better be handled by airlines if they set up a special phone number with agents that are solely dedicated to handling the flight. Basically take ten elite line agents, quickly brief them on what’s happening, and assign them for a few hours to the line. You can have an IVR asking for PNR and pax name to weed out, callers not on the flight trying to skip the call queue.
It’s gonna take all the BS and creative juices Delta Dunn can muster to put lipstick on this pig.
Ah don’t worry, the cult of DL followers will jump in and spin this into “DL innovated by providing a free island stopover! How innovative! All hail Dear Leader!” or something similar.
What happened to the food on the flight?
Good point. But that would have required Crew participation.
Doesn’t look good to me for a Southern US based company to not care for these passengers 🙁
Hey Bill ln DC.
My guess is that even if someone could unload some food from the plane, probably a lot of it would not be allowed because it came from a non EU country. Not sure about the drinks, but anything probably would be appreciated.
So Bill in DC, if this had been a northern based US company, it would have looked OK to you? Maybe JetBlue or United would have been a better look?
What I find interesting is that no one commented on the fact that crew was taken to a hotel and weren’t seen again til the plane left. If Delta had no ground crew at the airport, who was coordinating the flight’s replacement and passengers ongoing travel and physical comfort?
There should be some sort of plan that the flight crew manage the on ground arrangements for stranded passengers in such a situation.
This raises a question. The passengers didn’t have vises to enter Portugal (and next year the issue will be that they don’t have ETIAS documentation). However, the flight’s crew is stated to have gone to a hotel. Is there some kind of immigration allowance for international flight crews to enter countries without tourist documentation? What happens when ETIAS takes effect?
The crew is US based, and thus, have US passports. Those with a US passport do not require a visa to enter Portugal (unless the stay is over 90 days).
Any of the passengers with a US passport could have left as well. Perhaps they didn’t know or were given bad information.
A possible reason for the crew to go to a hotel could be to let them get enough sleep time to qualify for continuing the flight the next day.
Gammyjill, exactly. None of the carriers have any sort of plan for this, but it happens all the time, and the outcries are the same until the next one happens. Wake up Big D, AA and UAL….these things happen, Plan for them.
Maybe put Tom Brady on it to solve.
Amen, you and Gammyjill. If the airline has an airport to use in emergencies and we all hope they do! The airline should have local contract service providers (including assumption regarding likely immigration boarder issues) standing by to assist. Issue that based on a comment about crew having hotel rooms, why didn’t Delta take care of passengers??
Seems the airport wasn’t exhibiting welcoming hospitality which is all anyone would need
“If the airline has an airport to use in emergencies and we all hope they do! The airline should have local contract service providers (including assumption regarding likely immigration boarder issues) standing by to assist.” I guess you mean all airlines should have local contracts service providers in every airport in the world since you never know where an emergency landing will happen.
Bad things happen at unscheduled landings.
I was on a flight from Miami to San Francisco when a passenger became ill and the flight was diverted to New Orleans for the passenger to get care. The plane needed fuel and the pilot said MSY didn’t have a contract with American and the pilot would have to use his personal credit card. The airport was closed for the night and the emergency refueler had to be brought in. Then the plane’s rest rooms needed servicing, creating a 4 hour delay.
What do these passengers expect? That a Delta representative suddenly appears unable remote island with a magic wound to make all their wishes a reality? I understand the situation sucks but whatever they were told by airport personnel was not coming from a Delta spokesperson. I can imagine it takes a while for Delta to be able to coordinate with local authorities a good way to handle that situation. Now, blaming this on skin color is just absurd. If I was Delta, I would just dump Ghana from their schedule and let them find other options to fly to the US. Too much drama there.
And then flight attendants handed out SkyMiles American Express Card applications and told everyone how wonderful the new loyalty program is.
“diverted to the remote Atlantic island of Praia da Vitória”
The name of the island is Terceira. Praia da Vitoria is just the name of one of the municipalities on the island.
Also, Terceira is absolutely beautiful. I keep laughing at all these news stories that make it sound like a tiny hellhole – it’s got a gorgeous old city that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and by Atlantic island standards it is pretty well connected with direct flights to NYC, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, and Oakland.
I spent many weeks at Lajes, the Portuguese AF base on Terceira, when I was in the USAF. I agree, I thought the island was beautiful and always enjoyed my visits.
If you can’t leave an airport with virtually any facilities than anywhere is a tiny hell hole.
Totally agree, but that has nothing to do with which airport they landed at. And yet all of these stories on it are using a framing of them being stuck on a “tiny remote island” in the headline. The problem is that they are stuck in the airport.
Really – the breathtaking level of ignorance and complete lack of common sense proudly on display here (from the writer to those commenting) is incredible.
This island is no more “remote” than plenty of other places tourists go (less “remote” than Hawaii, for example). If you’ve got an in-flight emergency, it’s a great place to go, you worry about visas and bottled water on the ground. It’s actually a lovely place. And the island has a name, that nobody here (except commenters Sco and Blair) appear to know: it’s called Terceira. Praia da Vitoria is the name of a small town nearby, technically where the airport is located, but it’s a large airport that has served the island and the world for decades. The airport name is Lajes, it has been a well known stopping point for trans-Atlantic air service, and a major US Air Force Base (joint military/civil use now) for decades, currently a NATO Air base. It’s a pleasant, nicely-developed place where – gasp! – yes, you can DRINK THE TAPWATER! The island has a lovely old city (founded in the 13th Century…they call it “the First City In The New World”) and is a UNESCO World heritage Site.
The airport is modern, perfectly functional and better developed than many US airports with commercial air service. It sounds like these passengers wanted a gold-plated lounge experience and to be put up at the nearest Holiday Inn. Boo-hoo, oh the humanity. I’m sure that a planeload full of white folks would not have been treated any differently, if it had unexpectedly plopped down there early one morning.
This is a large airport, but it can be pretty sleepy sometimes as it only has a handful of scheduled flights daily and no doubt staffing and availability of amenities are scheduled to coincide with scheduled service – it wakes up when they’re expecting flights, and gets quiet at other times. Not sure why these folks were expecting a red carpet treatment. Sounds like they were slightly inconvenienced by having to sit on the plane for a few hours waiting for the rescue aircraft to arrive.
What’s the big deal? Oh…clickbait for the ignorant and the lazy.
@ Janice
Did you not read Stuart’s comment? Trapped is trapped. Glad you had freedom there ;-))
Doesn’t matter where you land and how desirable a destination it may be if you are trapped at the airport.
Presumably every passenger on this plane had a visa to enter the US, held an ESTA, or US/CAN passport. This wasn’t a case of economic migrants trying to sneak in to Portugal. Everyone wanted to go to the US. What is the risk of treating everyone humanely? Delta could have done better, but the local authorities could have as well. Ghana has a right to be upset.
Obviously this is quite terrible for the passengers, but Terceira is not that remote in that the airport is also a very major US Air Force Base (hence the long runway). If passengers weren’t fed or given water, there is little excuse for it.
It doesn’t say how long they were stranded but Terceira is only about a 4.5 hour flight from Boston.
This reminds me of the Air India plane that made an emergency landing in (truly remote) Siberia earlier this year and the passengers had to basically stay in a schoolhouse until a plane could be sent to collect them. Of course when a pilot needs to put his plane on the ground quickly, ground services aren’t the first concern.
“This same passenger blamed the poor treatment of passengers on their back skin color:”
You really need a copy editor.
Why not give up flying because flying is due to oppression; aviation was invented by White people and commercial aircraft continue to be designed and built by mostly White people. If everyone went back to what they could contemplate, design, and build on their own, things like this wouldn’t be a problem.
Actually, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has specifically stated that they are NOT opening an investigation. You seem to have edited their statement to remove the part that stated “It is important to note that this incident did not occur within the Accra Flight Information Region or Ghana’s territory”. They are simply asking Delta to clarify the situation.
Also, the passengers had a rescue aircraft pick them up approximately 13.5 hours after landing in the Azores. Delta did this by canceling that day’s LIS-BOS flight and diverting that aircraft and crew to pick up the Accra passengers.
Where are the 332 and 333’s when you need them?
It’s an emergency. It sucks. Shit happens.
Both DL and UA use aircraft which haven’t seen commercial service by most European carriers in years. Nuff said!
All the islands of the Azores have airports with long runways, a throw back to the military use in times past. Delta, in summer at least which this still currently is operate to and from PDL on the Island of Sao Miguel on a daily basis from Boston. They have the usual ground handling arrangements in place with Azores Airlines – the only handling agent on the islands.
Why oh why then divert to another island with fewer facilities and no arrangements in place? It’s not like PDL is so busy, usually a couple of flights an hour so plenty of opportunity for an additional landing here and there – Air France use it for mid Atlantic stops when necessary as do Iberia and TAP.
Madness on the part of Delta.