26 hours of flight from United Airlines via the Arctic: what really happened

More and more facts have emerged about the causes and consequences of the 16-hour grounding in northern Canada of a United Airlines flight between New York and Hong Kong.

As L & # 39; Independent revealed that Flight 179 on Saturday in United was halfway through the Arctic crossing when the flight crew decided to turn away from Goose Bay, Labrador due to a medical emergency.

A pbadenger reportedly had seizures within 45 minutes of take-off. A call was launched for health professionals on board. The pilots initially decided to continue, but while the aircraft was off the coast of Greenland, the state of the traveler was deteriorating and they decided to head for the Canadian military base.

After landing the Boeing 777, the pbadenger was taken to a local hospital.

But a door used during the evacuation could not be closed – apparently because she got stuck in extreme cold. According to a warning from Environment Canada, the outside temperature reached -45 ° C with the wind chill.

The 250 pbadengers spent the next 16 hours on the ground aboard the 20 – year – old plane while they were waiting for another plane to save them. They were not allowed to leave the aircraft because immigration staff were not available in sufficient numbers.

They were told that it would take seven hours for everyone on board to travel to Canada and that once the process was initiated, it could not be interrupted.

Once the delay became apparent, pbadengers learned that an emergency aircraft was en route. In fact, the replacement aircraft did not leave Newark before 11 am on the ground.

During the delay, a pbadenger, Steven Lau, tweeted regularly. At the beginning of the wait, he wrote: "This is never a good sign for your flight while the plane is sitting on the tarmac for more than 2 hours and that the pilots are in the cabin and take suggestions from nearby pbadengers on the way to close / emergency exit door. "

There are rumors that they would be flown to Vancouver, bringing them closer to their destination, Hong Kong.

Later, as confusion increased about what was happening / "We have reached the point where the AU179 captain has begun to qualify all the updates he provides through the intercom with "they tell me", "according to them", "so-called", etc. (probably because his @united superiors continue to change their story about what's going on).

"Google Maps tells me that I could walk up to New York in about 20 days, so leave this option open."

The emergency aircraft finally arrived after 14 hours, with mechanics on board. He could not continue to Hong Kong because of the extreme duration of the flight – 16 hours under normal conditions – added to the time spent on the ground.

Efforts continued to repair the defective door so that pbadengers do not have to go from one plane to another. But they were eventually displaced, using school buses.

The replacement aircraft took off at 16:16 local time (14:46 New York time), nearly 24 hours after the start of the initial flight.

The new plane was supposed to have food on board, but another pbadenger, Chris Liew, said: "He did not eat meals or even sandwiches during the flight. Pretty sad. "

On leaving, he took a picture that he captioned: "Our igloo for 16 hours".

The replacement aircraft landed at 1800 New York time at Newark Airport, where the pbadengers had begun more than 26 hours previously.

Pbadengers received a letter from Bryan Stoller, United Customer Vice President of Customer Service. In this paper, he said, with a little underestimation: "We have not managed to provide you with a smooth and comfortable travel experience."

They had the choice between a $ 500 (£ 388) voucher for future trips with United and 25,000 MileagePlus points, as well as a full refund of their ticket for the trip between New York and New York. Hong Kong. It is understood that this will be provided regardless of whether they continue their journey to Hong Kong or not.

Since arriving at the Newark Airport in New York in the evening, they have been offered meals and a hotel stay in the city.

The original aircraft is still on the ground at Goose Bay.

The cost of the incident for United Airlines will likely exceed $ 1 million (£ 778,000), which includes lost fares, compensation, care packages, fuel costs and shipping.