Stranded snowstorm victims spend 8 Hours on Atlanta’s tarmac

Having your flight cancelled because of the snowstorm is bad enough, but imagine having to sit helpless and strapped in, on the tarmac, for as long as 8 hours beforehand.

Having your flight cancelled because of the snowstorm is bad enough, but imagine having to sit helpless and strapped in, on the tarmac, for as long as 8 hours beforehand.

That’s what happened yesterday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where passengers on dozens of flights were forced to sit on the tarmac for as long as 8 hours waiting for a takeoff that in most cases never happened.

“It was like being in a concentration camp!” said Maureen Sternberg of Palm Beach who was stranded on the tarmac in ATL. “No food, no water, no help, and lies from the cockpit.”

Sternberg said that pilots and the crew repeatedly assured her and other passengers that takeoff was imminent, but she described a series of miscues that ultimately forced her to sit on the tarmac for more than 7 hours on Delta Flight #1725, only to have the flight cancelled.

“Delta Airlines clearly has a flawed system of de-icing in Atlanta. Many of the victims of yesterday’s horrifying event reported having to go through the de-icing line up to 3 times prior to take off. This is identical to 4 days in January of last year,” said Kate Hanni, President of FlyersRights.org.

“Snowstorms happen, but forcing paying customers to sit in a locked metal tube for hours at a time should not,” Hanni concluded.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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