Airline passengers who were forced to spend more than 20 hours at a military base in Goose Bay, N.L., are outraged after learning crew members stayed at a hotel during the unscheduled stopover.
Flight UA958 was on its way from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to London Heathrow Airport when the Boeing 767 had to land because of a "maintenance issue," United Airlines said in a statement on Sunday.
The 176 passengers stayed in the barracks at CFB Goose Bay for 22 hours and were provided with meals while they waited for a new flight to become available.
However, the 11 crew members on their flight were provided with hotel accommodations. United said this was because there wasn’t enough hotel space in Goose Bay to provide their passengers with rooms as well.
One passenger vented his frustration on Twitter once he learned that crew members were in a hotel while he and other customers were "stranded in a barracks."
United responded: "The crew must rest in order to continue the flight. You can rest on board the aircraft knowing that they are in charge."
Both tweets have since been removed from Twitter.
Customers were later flown from Goose Bay to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday night, and arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport at 2:28 p.m. local time Sunday, after a journey that took more than 30 hours.
After touching down in Newark, several passengers spoke to reporters. One woman said that during the ordeal, United made no effort to communicate with them.
"The entire time … no United representative ever reached out to anybody," said the woman. "No phone calls, no human beings – nothing. Nobody ever had any idea what was going on."
Another man said the conditions at the barracks were cramped, and he and his wife were forced to share a single bed.
"We walked into the room and it was a single bed (with) one towel, sheets and a blanket laying on the bed," said the man, adding he and his wife "froze through the night" as the heat had not been turned on.
The Department of National Defence confirms that the heating system was broken and temperatures dropped to 6 degrees Celsius.
The man also said the close quarters, which saw passengers share bathrooms, led to an uncomfortable interaction with another woman.
"In the middle of the night, I got up to go to the bathroom, (and) I opened the bathroom. And (a connecting) door to the other room was open and there was a lady sleeping," said the man. "She goes: 'What are you doing?' She didn't realize we had a shared bathroom."
United Airlines said they also gave out meal coupons, but passenger Bryce Taylor told his mother they weren't valid.
"His food vouchers aren't working because he can't use them at the airport … I don't know the last time he had a good meal," said Jo Taylor.
United Airlines has since apologized for the ordeal and has refunded passengers' tickets.
"We apologize to our customers for the disruption, and we recognize this was a considerable inconvenience," United Airlines said. "We will be refunding their tickets to London and providing additional compensation."
However, Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United, said that the company could face stiff penalties from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"They can fine United Airlines for not communicating with the passengers," said Leocha.
