So what happens when bad weather at your destination forces your aircraft to divert to an alternate airport? In this summer of our discontent, it's a recipe for another passengers-held-hostage drama. That's what happened on July 29 to the poor folks on Continental Flight 1669 from Caracas. It diverted to Baltimore-Washington just minutes before it reached Newark, its intended destination. Five hours later, with passengers clapping and drumming on overhead bins to express their displeasure, local police were called. When the plane finally reached Newark, Continental apparently had little or no staff available to help the travelers rebook their missed connections. Joe Sharkey has the details in his On the Road column in today's editions of The New York Times. And Chris Elliott reprints the letter of complaint that the outraged passengers wrote to Continental Airlines.
http://pblog.biztravelife.com/
On the Road
Right There on the Tarmac, the Inmates Revolt
By JOE SHARKEY
ON July 29, Continental Flight 1669, a 737-700 with about 120 passengers aboard, was bound for Newark from Caracas, Venezuela, when bad weather caused the plane to be diverted to Baltimore. It sat there for about five hours with passengers on board as food and water ran low and toilets became filthy.
Since Dec. 29, there have been hundreds of reports of passengers unable to get off parked airplanes for 6, 8 and even 12 hours. Just last weekend, for example, a Customs computer breakdown at Los Angeles International Airport stranded more than 17,000 international passengers on planes, some for more than 10 hours.
But what made the Continental flight somewhat different was that passengers organized and protested by clapping in rhythm and drumming on overhead bins. Finally, the pilot, worried about mayhem, called the police.
“People were clapping, but nobody got out of hand,†said Israel Niezen, a developer of interactive media who was returning to his home near Los Angeles through Newark when Flight 1669 was diverted to Baltimore Washington International Airport......
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/business...amp;oref=slogin
http://pblog.biztravelife.com/
On the Road
Right There on the Tarmac, the Inmates Revolt
By JOE SHARKEY
ON July 29, Continental Flight 1669, a 737-700 with about 120 passengers aboard, was bound for Newark from Caracas, Venezuela, when bad weather caused the plane to be diverted to Baltimore. It sat there for about five hours with passengers on board as food and water ran low and toilets became filthy.
Since Dec. 29, there have been hundreds of reports of passengers unable to get off parked airplanes for 6, 8 and even 12 hours. Just last weekend, for example, a Customs computer breakdown at Los Angeles International Airport stranded more than 17,000 international passengers on planes, some for more than 10 hours.
But what made the Continental flight somewhat different was that passengers organized and protested by clapping in rhythm and drumming on overhead bins. Finally, the pilot, worried about mayhem, called the police.
“People were clapping, but nobody got out of hand,†said Israel Niezen, a developer of interactive media who was returning to his home near Los Angeles through Newark when Flight 1669 was diverted to Baltimore Washington International Airport......
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/business...amp;oref=slogin
