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Crew change blamed for JetBlue delay in Bermuda

Passengers on a JetBlue flight suffered a long delay in leaving Bermuda after it had to divert to the island for a medical emergency. (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

JetBlue passengers had an uncomfortable night last week and dealt with some confusion after their flight made a late-night emergency stop in Bermuda and was delayed for hours.

Flight B6898, bound for Boston from San Juan, Puerto Rico, was diverted to LF Wade International Airport early last Wednesday due to a medical emergency.

The 194 passengers on board, who came to Bermuda at about 1.40am, were forced to stay at the airport overnight as the flight crew timed out and had to be switched.

A spokeswoman for Skyport, the operator of the airport, said that passengers were told they would leave the airport at 7.30am once a new flight crew arrived the next morning.

She added that, owing to further delays, the crew did not arrive until 10am and that the flight did not leave for Boston until 12.15pm.

The incident happened after the flight already experienced a three-hour delay departing San Juan.

The Skyport spokeswoman said: “The airline informed passengers that the crew would arrive at 6.40am and the flight would resume its course to Boston at 7.30am.

“However, the airline later made additional announcements advising of further delays to this schedule.“

She added: “The replacement crew eventually arrived at 10am, and the flight departed for Boston at 12.15pm.”

The spokeswoman said that all passengers were provided with “hot meals, coffee and juices" by 8am.

However, the delays led to many frustrated passengers sounding off on social media, where they expressed their frustration over the excessive wait time and other inconveniences.

One woman on TikTok under the handle @dajees.sisters1 said that she was concerned that she didn’t know “when we’ll be home to our children”.

“JetBlue did us dirty. We are not selfish, we’re not mad that we had to land in Bermuda because someone had a medical emergency, that was not the case.”

The following day, passengers on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow arrived in Bermuda without their luggage because of a technical problem.

A similar incident happened with another BA flight, 159, around May 14, which was also attributed to a technical problem.

The airport suffered flooding over the weekend after its storm drainage system was overwhelmed by rainwater and overflowed enough to lift a manhole cover.

No damage was reported as a result of the flooding.

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Published May 31, 2023 at 7:52 am (Updated May 31, 2023 at 1:27 pm)

Crew change blamed for JetBlue delay in Bermuda

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