Caribbean Airlines Passengers Stuck On Tarmac For 6 Hours At Newark Airport
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was anger and frustration at Newark Liberty International Airport Thursday after a group of passengers were left stuck on the tarmac for six hours.
Three hundred travelers on two Caribbean Airlines flights from Trinidad were diverted by the bad weather to Newark instead of their original destination -- John F. Kennedy Airport.
Passengers waited in the planes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and said they really didn't know why.
"I felt like I was claustrophobic," 11-year-old Jasmine told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis.
"They didn't have any food per se on the plane," said Nikita Job of Somerset, N.J.
While passengers said they understood severe weather played a role in the delay, they were dumbfounded why it took so long just to get off their planes.
"It's disgusting. It's really terrible. I mean we're human, nobody should have to go through this," said Raj Wahid of Queens.
Pilot Paul Beston said Newark Airport does not service Caribbean Airlines -- no computers, no staff, no customs paperwork and no gate. Despite new federal rules that feature a passenger Bill of Rights, the measure does not yet apply to international flights.
Calls by CBS 2 to both Caribbean Airlines and the Port Authority were not returned Thursday night.
So following their long wait, passengers were eventually taken home by bus.
"I hope it never happens again," said Theresa Abraham of Long Island.
SOUND-OFF: Have a tarmac horror story of your own? How would you have reacted in this situation? Share your thoughts in the comments section below...
