Delta Passengers Pass out After Being stuck on Tarmac in Above 43 C Heat
According to eyewitness statements, multiple passengers and at least one crew member on board Delta Air Lines Flight 555 experienced heat-related illness after the aircraft was stranded on the tarmac for hours in temperatures surpassing 43°C (111°F),
Originally scheduled to depart from Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on Monday, the flight had to be canceled due to a significant number of people falling ill.
Delta Air Lines informed NBC News that numerous customers had to be treated by first responders, and one passenger and one flight attendant required transportation to a local hospital.
The airline issued an apology, stating, “We apologize for the experience our customers had on flight 555.” They assured that Delta teams were investigating the circumstances leading to the uncomfortable cabin temperatures and expressed gratitude for the efforts of their personnel and the first responders at Harry Reid International.
Compensations and direct apologies were provided to the affected customers, and Delta made arrangements to accommodate them on alternative flights after the cancellation of Flight 555 to Atlanta.
Krista Garvin, a field producer for Fox News who was on the flight, tweeted about the ordeal, describing it as an “INSANE experience” while they were stuck on the tarmac.
In her tweets to Delta Air Lines, Garvin mentioned the initial delay due to a missing flight attendant and the subsequent three-hour wait in the scorching 111-degree weather before being told to return to the gate due to people passing out.
Half an hour later, Garvin reported that paramedics had boarded the flight to attend to those falling ill. She shared a video showing an ambulance arriving beside the plane, with three people already wheeled out, and oxygen tanks being used.
In a later interview with Fox Business, Garvin revealed that multiple passengers had passed out due to the extreme heat, and some even soiled themselves. She estimated at least five people being stretchered off the plane.
Although passengers were given the option to leave the plane, they were warned of possible delays in getting another flight to Atlanta, causing many to stay despite rising temperatures.
Another passenger, April Love, told ABC News that she witnessed at least four people receiving oxygen and saw three gurneys being brought in.
Garvin recounted that passengers were informed that the flight might not be able to take off after a flight attendant fell ill, and she saw the flight attendant being wheeled off the plane on a stretcher with an oxygen mask.
After a total of four hours, all passengers were asked to disembark from the plane.
On that day, the National Weather Service recorded a high temperature of 46°C (115°F) at Harry Reid International Airport.
Currently, an excessive heat warning is in effect for Nevada due to the persistently high temperatures that have affected most of the U.S. in the recent month. The heatwave covering substantial portions of the southern and western regions is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Las Vegas had tied its all-time high temperature record on the preceding Sunday, reaching 116°F (46.7°C).
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