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Hundreds of Honolulu-bound passengers were forced to stay at a John F. Kennedy Airport gate for almost 33 hours earlier this week and offered only a $12 food voucher.
The Hawaiian Airlines missed its 10 a.m. takeoff Tuesday from the Queens international airport due to an “odor during a pre-departure cabin check” reported by the crew, according to WNBC-TV.
The grounded fliers were forced to remain at the gate for an eternity, as one delay turned into another, the report said.
“Every time they delay it, they don’t give us a real reason for the delay,” Joe Rao Jr., one of the passengers, told the station.
“We learned that there was a malfunction of some kind, a mechanical issue of some kind, that needed to be remedied and they said that the part needed to be flown in from Atlanta, Georgia.”
The part was delivered and the fix was made, but the plane still did not have the green light.
“Then the pilot didn’t wanna clear the flight because he said it smelled of fumes,” Rao said.
Throughout the ordeal, weary travelers were reportedly not allowed to get their luggage back or exchange tickets, and were only given a $12 food voucher for their troubles — barely enough for a bottle of water and modest snack in the overpriced terminal.
Passengers were then advised they could take the 10 a.m. Wednesday flight to Honolulu, but airline officials failed to mention that there was no room left, the affiliate reported.
By the time the plane’s issues were resolved, the flight’s crew needed to rest before they could take to the skies — which didn’t happen until almost 7 p.m. Wednesday, turning an 11-hour flight into a 44-hour nightmare, according to the story.
“The safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and we’re working to get our guests safely to their destination,” Hawaiian Airlines reportedly said.
The travel nightmare came after New York City airports bore the brunt of the national air travel delays earlier this week.
Newark Liberty International, JFK and LaGuardia airports topped the list of the country’s 1,600 canceled flights on Sunday amid rainstorms and flooding in the Northeast.
Newark alone experienced 365 cancellations and 461 delays that day.
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