Some Passengers Fainted While Stuck On Tarmac In Delta Flight

Photo: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg (Getty Images)

A heat wave is striking several regions around the world, including a swath of the United States from Texas to Southern California. Phoenix, Arizona, has had 19 straight days with a daily high temperature of over 110 degrees. The heat has been just as unrelenting 250 miles northwest in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yesterday, passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight were stuck inside their plane on the tarmac in Vegas for four hours.

Delta’s Luggage Only Flight

The ill-fated Delta flight was scheduled to fly to Atlanta on Monday morning. Passengers on the aircraft waited to depart in 111-degree heat with no air conditioning. KVVU reported multiple people passed out with some vomited. The pilot was asked to return to the gate due to the number of emergencies onboard. Paramedics boarded the plane to attend to the heat-stricken and several people were stretchered off.

Passengers were informed that they could choose to disembark and return to the terminal but warned that it could be days before the next Delta flight to Atlanta. Many elected to remain on board and the situation worsened as hours passed and emergency service vehicles surrounded the plane. The flight was eventually rescheduled to Tuesday morning and then canceled.

Delta Air Lines released a statement after the incident, reading:

“We apologize for the experience our customers had on flight 555 from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 17, which ultimately resulted in a flight cancelation. Delta teams are looking into the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin and we appreciate the efforts of our people and first responders at Harry Reid International.”