The Delta flight to Amsterdam, which was diverted to Kennedy Airport after several main cabin passengers were sickened by spoiled food, was delayed even further leaving New York Wednesday afternoon.
An Airbus A330 from Detroit to Amsterdam was supposed to arrive in the Dutch capital around 12 p.m. Wednesday. But as the plane sat at JFK after the diversion, its listed departure time slowly moved from 6 a.m. Wednesday to 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
On the latest listing, passengers were scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam around 8 a.m. Thursday, a less-than-ideal 20 hours behind the initial schedule. A Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert, surely the main concern of at least some passengers, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday night in Amsterdam.
The first flight out of Detroit was already well underway by the time passengers and crew realized something was wrong. It turned around over the Canadian island of Newfoundland, just before reaching the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Instead of a trans-Atlantic journey, the trip became a nightmare five-hour flight from Detroit to New York, landing at JFK around 4 a.m. after taking off from Detroit just before 11 p.m.
Upon arrival in New York, the FDNY treated 12 passengers. There were 277 people on board the aircraft.
“Medical crews were on-site to meet the aircraft and treat any affected passengers and crew members,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “Delta teams will immediately work to gather information into how this incident occurred.”
The initial flight, listed as Delta Flight 136, was rescheduled to depart JFK at 6 a.m., about an hour after the emergency landing. But that flight was scrapped completely.
A second flight, listed as Delta Flight 9890 but using the same aircraft, was created and scheduled for takeoff at 4:30 p.m. But that flight was then delayed another two hours, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
A few passengers took to social media to express their anger. One even mentioned the rebooked flight that was later delayed.
Delta has revealed no details on exactly what in-flight food was spoiled or how the crew and passengers realized and decided to turn the plane around. Flight 136 had already been in the air for nearly three hours when it changed plans and traveled two hours back to JFK.
“This is not the service Delta is known for and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travels,” the spokesperson said.
