A Delta Airlines flight destined for Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing at JFK International Airport early Wednesday after passengers were given rotten food.
Delta flight 126, a redeye with 277 customers onboard, took off from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on Tuesday just before 11 p.m.
A spokesperson for the airline in a statement confirmed the plane was “diverted to New York’s JFK early Wednesday morning after it was discovered that a portion of the in-flight meal service was spoiled.” It touched down safely around 4 a.m.
“Medical crews were on-site to meet the aircraft and treat any affected passengers and crew members,” according to the statement, which did not provide details on how many people ate the bad food.
The Fire Department of New York said medical responders treated 12 passengers after the plane touched down.
“Delta teams will immediately work to gather information into how this incident occurred,” the statement concluded. “This is not the service Delta is known for and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travels.”
Some passengers still remained perturbed by the incident despite Delta’s mea culpa.
“I need to know how you’re going to get me to Amsterdam today – I’m on the plane that’s emergency landing at JFK because you served passengers ‘contaminated’ food,” one traveler wrote in a post on X. “I don’t need hotel/food vouchers I need to arrive in Amsterdam today.”
The diverted flight is slated to depart from JFK at 3 p.m. and arrive in the Netherlands on Thursday at 4:20 a.m. local time., which is some 16 hours after the scheduled landing time.