For seven hours, the passengers on JetBlue flight 504 have been grounded at Bradley Airport, with no bathrooms and no water, according to passengers on the plane who are Tweeting and others who contacted NBC Connecticut.
The passengers left Ft. Lauderdale, Florida just after 10 a.m., heading for Newark, but the flight was diverted to Bradley, where it had been since 1:30 p.m.
"At the three-hour mark they told us by law they had to let us off the plane. They were waiting for a tug to take us to a gate. We heard that same message at the four-hour mark, and continuing until state troopers boarded the plane for a medical emergency," said Robert, a passenger who did not want to give his last name.
A paraplegic on the flight had a medical issue, and about seven hours after the plane landed. It was at that point that police and firefighters came onboard to render medical assistance.
“Still on the plane. We haven't moved. Now EWR closed. Getting ugly in here. People yelling wanting to get off,” Andrew Carter said via Twitter just before 6 p.m.
JetBlue Flight 1013 from Boston to New York has also been grounded for hours and they ran out of water, @HedgeyeENERGY tweets. A vehicle will be towing them to one of the gates.
The airline released a statement Saturday night.
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"JetBlue is doing everything possible to ensure our customers affected by today's unusual combination of weather and infrastructure issues are being well cared for," said Victoria Lucia, JetBlue spokesperson. "We apologize for the experience."
The JetBlue flights were two of 23 airplanes diverted to Bradley Airport Saturday, according to Gov. Dannel Malloy. The state was trying to move 1,000 cots to the airport late Saturday to help make stranded passengers comfortable, Malloy said.
Even after being let off their planes, frustration levels continued to be high for passengers who were stuck at the airport.
"I'll never fly JetBlue again, and I'll never fly through Connecticut again," Robert said.
The airline refunded airfares to passengers who were stranded.
