Travellers facing a 20-hour wait on an airport floor in Bermuda say they have been “abandoned in the middle of the Atlantic” after their flight from Miami to London had to divert when pilots reportedly smelled smoke in the cockpit due to a suspected mechanical issue.
American Airlines has apologised after flight AA38 had to change course about three hours after taking off from Miami International Airport on Monday due to “a possible mechanical issue”, landing instead on the British island territory in the North Atlantic.
The Boeing 777-300’s 303 passengers then waited nearly 21 hours in L.F. Wade International Airport in St George’s before finally boarding a replacement flight to London Heathrow that departed at 9.32pm local time.
The PA news agency understands the flight was unable to continue due to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s mandated crew rest requirements after maintenance teams had inspected the aircraft – and passengers are not allowed to leave the airport due to Bermuda’s Covid-19 requirements.
According to passengers, it took almost 10 hours for them to be provided with food at the airport and are were just eight toilets available and no showers.
Jonathan Lo, musical director at Northern Ballet, was on the flight on his way home to the UK with his fiancee Laura Day, the 29-year-old principal character artist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The pair are seen waiting on the Bermuda airport floor
Jonathan Lo, musical director at Northern Ballet, was on the flight on his way home to the UK with his fiancee Laura Day, the 29-year-old principal character artist at the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
On the final journey of an “epic trip” which had seen Mr Lo, 35, propose in Cape Town, South Africa, the couple – who live between London and Birmingham – had been “dozing off” when the captain told passengers there was “an indication of overheating electronics”.
“A little later on it was backed up by a further announcement to say that, actually, they could smell smoke in the aircraft cockpit,” he told the PA news agency.
Mr Lo said when they landed in Bermuda there was “quite a dramatic scene” with fire engines following the aircraft, but he understood this to be standard procedure and a precaution.
“All was going quite smoothly until we got into the terminal,” he added.
Mr Lo said passengers waited for over three hours until their first update on the situation, and it only became clear they would need to…
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