My children experienced something I never have in my millions of miles of flying: a weather-related diversion onboard.
A Sun Country Diversion To Fargo, North Dakota
While we are dealing with tsunami warnings on the West Coast, the weather in the Midwest has been bad for several days. Earlier this week, my kids flew…or at least were scheduled to fly…from Los Angeles (LAX) to Minneapolis (MSP) on Sun County, the MSP-based “hometown” carrier.
They were flying with my neighor and heading to visit our former neighbors who moved from a couple doors down to Minnesota a couple years ago. We have remained in contact and last year my son Augustine went to visit since they have a boy around the same age. This year, my daughter Claire Marie, now five, went too.
I dropped them off at LAX on Sunday afternoon and they departed on time. But around 9:45 pm my time I received a text that they had diverted to Fargo, North Dakota (FAR) due to storms in Minneapolis.
I remember flying into Hector International Airport in Fargo for the first (and only) time more than 20 years ago, on a trip wtih my grandmother to visit the the farms where she and my grandfather were born and had grown up. We met many new cousins on that trip and it was an abosutlely wonderful time I hope to replciate one day with my own children.
Anyway, I quickly booked a hotel for them, choosing the Delta Hotels Fargo, a Marriott property, because it had an indoor water park. I thought that would be a great diversion for the kids during the layover…and I even told the kids on the phone, which made them very excited.
Shortly after booking, however, I received an email from the property:
Hi! Valued guest, this is a notification that the hotel has a scheduled Power Outage on Monday July 28th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
MONDAY DEPARTURES: We recommend checking out before 9:30 while the property management system is still accessible.
MONDAY IN-HOUSE GUESTS: There will not be any stay-over service this day; the restaurant will close at 9:00 a.m. All electricity powered amenities including lights and elevators will be down during this time.
MONDAY ARRIVALS: Check-in time is postponed until 5pm. Check in time is depending on when property management systems are functioning after the down time. We will be happy to check in when capable this also pertains to mobile check ins.
We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please make the necessary arrangements. Thank you!
Turns out the pool was closed due to the planned power outrage, so the premium I paid for this hotel was meaningless. Well, maybe not…
Augustine, who I am hoping will turn out far shrewder than I am, asked for breakfast instead. Granted.
I love that.
And while I don’t approve of the carb-heavy breakfast choices they made, at least he turned lemons into lemonade. May he and Claire Marie far outshine me…
The following morning around 10:00 am they headed back to the airport where a special desk had been set up, since Sun Country does not serve Fargo. Allegiant employees were helping.
The flight took off with the same crew and they landed in MSP about 14 hours late.
CONCLUSION
I must admit I’m a tad envious over this whole thing. What fun to spend an unexpected night in the city where their great-grandmother was born. Of course, it’s a shame they could not see the family farms…or even get to swim..but it’s a fun story nevertheless. Maybe one day I’ll have a weather diversion too.
You’ve never experienced a weather-related diversion before?
What a rookie.
Going to HK , I experienced a Typhoon diversion , which resulted in a 36 hour fun and wet time in flooded Manila .
Funny because when we discussed flying through a typhoon (me) you never mentioned this diversion. Must have happened quite recently. Odd because I can remember the exact date when it happened to me.
Your diversions were because they wanted you off the plane
Too right LOL. In Lanzarote (Canary Islands), we experience them regularly, usually at least once per month on average (windshear, poor visibility, etc.)
Never had a weather diversion? I’m surprised to hear that. Got me thinking, I’ve been a flight attendant for 35 years and just had my first weather diversion last year. So, I guees it’s very possible to always have Mother Nature on your side while traveling.
I’m surprised to hear you’ve never had a diversion either. I think they’re generally more common in the Central US, Brazil, and Southeast Asia. On the coast and in Europe, they’re far less common.
A fun fact! AUS receives more diversions than any airport in the world, mainly due to its proximity to IAH and DFW. I’ve seen EK and QF on the ground at AUS before.
Yeah like AA from DFW to GRU divert to Rio after one go around due to fog. You’d think they could pack in more fuel.
Was watching the weather Sun night. Definitely tornadic weather in Western SD and Minnesota.
Hmmmm … A diversion to Rio …, .God was sending you a message !
,, lol
Sao Paulo diversions are common. I’ve diverted to VCP once, and to GRU once when flying to CGH. Heavy rains can shut the fields down and mess up ops.
Given their late arrival time, would the poll have asti been open?
Sorry, should say “would the pool have still been open?”
Unless the messgae you got about the diversion happened hours after the diversion…
Aaron I know the terms of your parole forbid you from going near children and that would probably extend to the internet too. Stay away from kids in any capacity, even talking or thinking about them or the law will come after you.
Your obsession with me and this topic screams of self-projection. Every accusation an admission…
I think you have uncommonly good fortune. I don’t fly nearly as much as you, yet I have been diverted for weather a few times.
Good on Suncountry for not locking everyone in the plane for several hours to wait for the weather to pass.
The coincidence of the diversion being to a place that you have a family connection to reminds me of a trip I took with my children a few summers back. We were traveling through the UK by train. I knew that the train would pass through a village that my mother grew up in and I spent considerable time in as a child, but we didn’t have time in our schedule to visit that village– well not voluntarily at least. When we got there, the train broke down in that village. So we had a tiny visit there anyway. In the end we had to take a taxi about 15 miles to the nearest major train station.
Experienced travelers they are! Was the weather the derecho storm?
Good job kids. Have fun in Edina with the rest of the cake eaters. LOL
Never had a weather diversion? Plan a flight to Dallas with an early evening arrival and you’ll be whisked away to El Paso!
Now that they’ve visited the hardest state, they’ll have to make it to all 50 someday!
Matthew, have you yourself made it to all 50 yet?
I’m at 47.
Still missing Kansas, Mississippi, and Alaska.
I’m surprised! These are all very nice places to visit. I was actually a couple of days in both KS and MS this summer, and can’t recommend it enough:)
Although we are in Europe for 3 weeks, weather has been horrible in MN. Two days ago my entire neighborhood was without power for almost 20 hours. I have been in touch with my neighbors and they shared some crazy pictures of trees down and dark skies.
Oh no. I hope the house was not damaged. Have a great holiday.
@Maryland: thanks! Vacation has been amazing so far. House should be fine as I have access to cameras, sensors, etc… that I can manage from anywhere and all looks good. Also neighbors said no damage. Living in the Midwest has its challenges. In 20 years we had almost everything outside of the house replaced 3 times. Roof, garage doors, windows screens, fences, etc… Lots of hail and wind damage.
Then the timing was perfect for getting out of town.
Probably blur their faces. Not a great idea to post children’s pics on the web.
It’s his children.
Those two are adorable. But did the airline supervise their time in Fargo?
No, but my neighbor did!
You have a very nice neighbour.
I’m 45 and travel a lot and have never had a plane diverted either!! Had a Lufthansa first class flight with my wife from Frankfurt to Chicago that almost had to turn around after 4 hours. I was crossing my fingers that it would but “unfortunately” they sorted out the snafu.
My 12yo son recently flew Sydney to Melbourne return alone to visit his cousins. I wondered what would happen if an overnight diversion happened (almost zero chance). Would he just stay under supervision at the airport? Or would he have to share a hotel room?
As a current resident of Fargo and a native to North Dakota, I hope we can welcome you back again soon! Pro-tip: visit between the months of June and August, or just bring a few extra layers. 😉
You and Heidi made the cutest kids!
I have been reading “Live and Let’s Fly” for a long time, and it’s very cool to see pictures of my hometown airport on your blog. I have not been to Hector since they started the parking renovations, but I am excited for the new gate expansion/overall terminal update.
I did not know you had family from the area. I am not a travel blogger, but it looks like there are quite a few travel bloggers with connections from the area. https://thriftytraveler.com/ was started by two of my fellow Fargo South Bruins.
Cool post : )
“Carb heavy breakfast” – the kids can’t have pancakes every once in a while? With fresh, healthy berries? Lol…
This is the problem with Americans, let me sprinkle a berry garnish on cake and call it breakfast. If I put a piece of decorative kale next to my burger it’s now a salad…. No wonder you all have health issues and look twice the size of a normal human.
The question is why in the world would put anyone on an airplane? Flying is extremely dangerous. I would not get near an airport. Don’t FLY.
Hi Matthew, you have a wonderful family! I’m so happy that we were able to host them and I hate that waterslide was down – they would have loved it. The pool and slide get a ton of use – so we need to be proactive with maintenance. Please let Augustine and her brother know that we will have a deluxe suite for them (and the entire family) when you make it back to Fargo along with poolside table and milkshakes! In the meantime, withing you and the family all the best, Norm
Thanks, Norm!