He said that after 14 hours of being stranded at Goose Bay, a rescue plane arrived with a new crew, mechanics and gate agents. The rescue plane was meant to fix the door, Dutt said, but instead, welcomed the passengers on board and took them back to Newark since the fix took too long.<doc-sep>NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Two-hundred fifty passengers were back on the ground in New Jersey on Sunday night, after an in-flight nightmare left them stuck on the tarmac at a small airport in Canada for more than 15 hours, with no way out. CBS2’s Hazel Sanchez spoke to some of those passengers. Passengers on a Saturday afternoon flight headed to Hong Kong instead arrived back in Newark more than 24 hours later. Their original United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at a remote air force base in Canada after a passenger fell ill. They were grounded on board their plane for more than 15 hours. “It has been cold and a bit hungry, but otherwise it was all right. I think everybody understood that the circumstances that nobody could really control,” passenger Chris Liew said. “Their choice of airport was very poor, since the airport was not equipped to handle 240 people,” passenger Eitan Magid added. People on board say emergency responders at Goose Bay Airport in Newfoundland helped the sick passenger off the plane to receive medical attention, but the flight couldn’t continue on to Hong Kong. One of the cabin doors was frozen after the temperature dipped to minus-25 with minus-65 degree wind chills. The door couldn’t be fixed. And because the plane landed during the overnight hours there were no customs personnel working. Passengers were forced to spend the night on the plane, with heat but only light snacks to eat. MORE: Police: Passenger Opens Emergency Exit, Uses Slide To Leave Plane Parked At Gate At Newark Airport Magid, who lives in Alpine, New Jersey, said passengers were told a rescue plane was coming to get them, but no one could tell them when. “The staff, the crew was amazing. I feel bad for them, because they had no information,” Magid said. “Clearly the pilots didn’t really know what was going on. They weren’t given a clear message, either, so it certainly wasn’t their fault,” passenger Alex Forshay said. MORE: SEE IT: World’s Longest Flight Lands At Newark Airport Finally, on Sunday morning a second plane arrived at the base. Twenty-seven hours after taking off from Newark passengers were back where the started. Many, like Foshay, lost valuable time and money. “I’m gonna have to go on to Seoul. I’ve missed my meetings in Hong Kong, so on to the next city,” Foshay said, adding when asked what he was most looking forward to, “A beer.” United Airlines rebooked many of the passengers and reimbursed others for their inconvenience. Some passengers said that’s not enough and plan to take action against the airline. According to a passenger CBS2 spoke with, all passengers on board were given a full refund, an additional $500 credit, a $100 gift card, and vouchers for food and a hotel stay.<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Vigils & tributes to George Floyd one year since his murder ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 28, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Here's what reported grand jury in Trump case may look like NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: People walk past the Trump Tower as the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in Washington on February 09, 2021 in New York City. After listening to nearly four hours of legal arguments, the Senate has voted on Tuesday to move ahead with the impeachment trial of former President Trump. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Report: US companies may have benefited from forced labor of Uyghurs WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from Cross- Hall of the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Israel and Hamas announced that they would agree to a cease-fire, which will take into effect on Friday, following days of fighting that claimed more than 200 lives. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 26: A view of the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021 in San Jose, California. A VTA employee opened fire at the yard, with preliminary reports indicating nine people dead including the gunman. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East (CNN) — Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Hong Kong were left stuck on the ground for more than 14 hours in frigid weather with a dwindling supply of food. The nightmarish incident began when the 3:05 p.m. flight was diverted to Goose Bay Airport in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador due to a medical emergency. The plane landed there at 9:31 p.m. AST, and medical personnel met the aircraft and a passenger was taken to a hospital. But as the flight was set to take off again, it experienced a mechanical issue. That’s when the waiting began. Passengers were not allowed to leave the airplane because the airport did not have a customs officer on duty during the overnight hours. Saturday bled into Sunday, and the flight remained grounded. Sonjay Dutt, a passenger, said on Twitter that the plane’s door had broken and that they were stuck on board as the weather dipped to negative-20 degrees outside. Unable to leave for hours upon hours, he began tweeting at United for help, saying that they were running low on food. Lloyd Slade Passenger Steven Lau posted this photo of United workers trying to fix an emergency exit door. On Sunday morning, Goose Bay officials brought on donuts and coffee from Tim Hortons, the classic Canadian fast food restaurant. United had food delivered to the passengers and “the crew is doing everything possible to assist customers,” a United spokesperson said. Finally, after more than 14 hours, Dutt was able to get off the plane with the rest of the passengers. My home for the last 12+ hours. pic.twitter.com/RFbyA2wCXp — SONJAY (@sonjaydutterson) January 20, 2019 “Its been a long long long long day,” he tweeted. Lloyd Slade, another passenger on the plane, said he was “just very tired, at this point” on Sunday. “Cabin/flight crew have been excellent and very helpful (United HQ/dispatch, not so much. )” An alternative aircraft containing meals for the passengers was flown to Goose Bay to transport customers back to Newark. “We apologize to our customers and our crew is doing everything possible to assist them during the delay,” the company said. Passenger Steven Lau thanked those who brought Tim Hortons on board. “It’s nearing 24 hours since we originally took off from Newark, so we’re all feeling restless and frustrated. I’m just ready to be off the plane and finished with this experience.” Lau said United rebooked passengers on flights to Hong Kong, and his new flight is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Another passenger, Rebecca Ausseil, said United handed out a letter saying they would get a full refund and travel credit. Passengers got a hotel voucher for Sunday night as well as meal vouchers and a gift card, she told CNN. She and Lau planned to still head to Hong Kong, but other passengers decided to just cut their losses and return home. Dutt, a professional wrestler who was trying to go to Macau for an event, tweeted that he decided to return home to Virginia because he could not make it to Macau in time. But his flight from Newark to Virginia also was delayed. “What an almost two days it’s been!” he tweeted. CORRECTION: The story has been updated to correct the location of the Canadian airport.<doc-sep>
Passengers on a United Airlines flight were stranded for more than 16 hours, and many had to sleep on the plane, after the jet made an emergency landing to aid a sick passenger. Flight 179 was traveling from Newark to Hong Kong on Saturday when it was diverted in Canada due to a medical emergency, the airline said. Medical personnel met the aircraft at Goose Bay Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, and transported the passenger to a local hospital, but a mechanical issue kept the plane from taking off again. The travel nightmare got even worse when passengers realized they wouldn't be able to leave the plane while crew members worked to fix the issue. "The airport did not have customs officers overnight so we were not able to let customers depart the aircraft. An alternative aircraft is being flown in to transport customers back to Newark," the airline said in a statement. "We apologize to our customers and our crew is doing everything possible to assist them during the delay." The passengers had to spend the night in the plane, with some passengers saying they were stuck for nearly 18 hours. United did not confirm those reports. "I think there was miscommunication between ground crew at Goose Bay and the people running flights ops in Chicago," Liam Keefe, a passenger on the plane, told ABC News. "At the end of the day, the guy probably would have died if we didn't divert. That was the reason we were stuck for a long time." Chris Liew, who was traveling to Hong Kong for a meeting on Monday, said the the passengers were stuck for at least 16 hours. "I think by the third hour they knew something was wrong mechanically," he said. "They had time to send another flight. But they didn't until close to 12 to 13 hours later." "The breaking point," added Eitan Magid, another passenger, "was when you thought that airplane was coming to get us. They did come, but 12 hours late, and we get on that flight and we ask for food, and they said there was no food, only snacks like pretzels. I said, after 12 hours you brought pretzels and we've been sitting first class and eating food. And that's more and more and more adding to the whole incident. It felt like they didn't care." United said it sent a rescue aircraft to transport customers back to Newark on Sunday evening. The airline said the passengers departed Newark International Airport on the original flight at 3:03 p.m EST Saturday and arrived back in Newark at 5:44 p.m. Sunday. ABC News' Marissa Parra contributed to this report.