Customers on a Delta Air Lines flight from Madrid to New York spent more than a day on Terceira, Azores — a small island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean — after an engine problem midflight prompted an emergency landing, an airline spokesperson said.
There were 282 customers and 13 crew members on board Delta flight 127 to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday when the Airbus A330 landed in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal made up of nine volcanic islands. They spent around 29 hours on the island.
“As safety comes before all else at Delta, the flight crew followed procedures to divert to Lajes, Azores (TER) after indication of a mechanical issue with an engine,” a Delta spokesperson said. “The flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels.”
Delta did not specify the nature of the mechanical issue.
The flight landed safely and customers were deplaned via stairs within an hour of landing, an airline spokesperson said. As of Wednesday, the spokesperson did not have information available regarding whether the plane was still under maintenance.
Customers and crew spent the night at area hotels and were provided meals. They boarded a new plane and arrived at JFK airport on Monday.
The flight from Madrid to New York normally takes about 8 hours, 20 minutes.
Delta will reach out to customers directly to apologize and offer compensation.
This year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has worked to reassure Americans that flying remains safe.
“If you get in a plane, if you look at how many people fly, how many flights we have, of course it’s a safe space,” Duffy told CBS News in February.
CBS News reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration for comment.
