Flying nightmare: Passengers spend 13 hours on tarmac after flight initially diverted

Passengers on a United Airlines flight diverted to Canada are back in New Jersey following a 13-hour nightmare.

News 12 Staff

Jan 21, 2019, 10:22 AM

Updated 1,915 days ago

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Passengers on a United Airlines flight diverted to Canada are back in New Jersey following a 13-hour nightmare.

United Flight 179 traveling from Newark to Hong Kong was diverted to Goose Bay Airport after a passenger had two seizures.
But the plane was unable to take off again because of a mechanical problem with one of the doors.
The passengers spent 13 hours on the tarmac in Canada after there were no customs officers at the airport to let them go inside.
A rescue plane finally brought them back to Newark.
United offered refunds and new flights to get the passengers to Hong Kong.


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