25-Hour Ordeal: Two Atlanta-Bound International Delta Flights Were Stranded on Tarmac at Alabama Regional Airport After Storms Caused Diversions

Two Delta Air Lines flights en route from Mexico to Atlanta were forced to divert to an airport in Alabama because of severe storms along their route.

Delta Flight 1828 departed Los Cabos International Airport [TP1] at 5:17 p.m. local time, while Delta Flight 599 from Mexico City took off nearly an hour later. Neither aircraft had sufficient fuel on board to fly around the unexpected weather.

Both flights diverted to Montgomery Regional Airport, which does not typically accept international inbound flights since it does not have customs facilities for processing commercial flights. As a result, passengers on board the Boeing 737-900 operating as Flight 1828 and the Boeing 737-800 operating as Flight 599 had to remain on board their respective aircraft, although by 5 a.m. in the morning local time, they had been permitted into a roped-off area of the terminal

Flight 1828 eventually arrived in Atlanta on Friday at 2:04 p.m. EDT, while Flight 599 arrived in Atlanta on Friday at 12:45 p.m.

Delta said that the lightning in the area forced them to hold the flights in Montgomery longer than had been expected, adding that the flight crews for both aircraft had exceeded FAA-permitted working hours and had to either be replaced or given a mandatory rest period.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for this experience,” a Delta Air Lines spokesperson said in a statement. “We fell short of how we aspire to serve and care for our customers amid thunderstorms in the Southeast U.S. Thursday evening. We are reaching out to each customer with a full refund of their booking.”

(Photo: Accura Media Group)