Etihad Airlines Flight 183 from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco was delayed over the weekend when “unprecedented fog” prohibited it from takeoff.
The flight was stuck on tarmac for 12-hours due to weather conditions and people on board were forced to stay on the grounded plane because the airport was at its capacity with others stranded.
By the time the flight arrived at its destination, passengers had been on the aircraft for a total of 28 hours and are less than impressed with service from the airline.
After finally landing in San Francisco, passenger Thomas Piani expressed his anger to reporters, explaining that people on board were kept in the dark as to what was happening with their flight.
“They kept telling us that we were going to leave, you know 15 minutes from now, 20 minutes from now, 30 minutes for now, for 12 hours,” he told Associated Press.
Others vented on social media, with one user pointing out that children and elders were on the plane:
Hey @EtihadAirways, I’ve been sitting on EY 183 in Abu Dhabi for 10 hours now. THIS IS NOT OK. There are kids and seniors on this flight.
— Ravali Reddy (@ravaliareddy) January 3, 2015
EY183 on runway for 9 hours. Terrible service and crew won’t serve food. Now further delays as they replace (unserved) food. @EtihadAirways
— Sujatha (@SuzeTwtr) January 3, 2015
Tension building up 8hr+ inside @EtihadAirways EY183 stuck on Abu Dhabi Tarmac; took 4+ hrs more 2 resolve cc: @CBSSF pic.twitter.com/yIfG4Z8JCu
— Mittal Parekh (@parekhmittal) January 4, 2015
Etihad released a statement explaining that the delay was due to “extraordinary weather conditions” and later issued an apology online:
We apologise for the serious inconvenience that these events have caused, which have been beyond our control. 8/8
— Etihad Airways (@EtihadAirways) January 4, 2015
The airline promised to waive change and cancellation fees.
