SAN FRANCISCO—Passengers of Etihad Airways Flight 183 from Abu Dhabi finally arrived in San Francisco following a nightmare ordeal that spanned 28 hours.
Initially delayed by fog in Abu Dhabi, the passengers of Flight 183 spent 12 hours waiting to take-off from the Middle East, and were not allowed to leave the aircraft as it sat waiting on the tarmac.
Passengers struggled to stay fed and hydrated during this time, taking to social media to voice their displeasure with both the airline and the conditions keeping them in place.
@VikasTexts tweeted, “Passengers are prisoners for @EtihadAirways – can’t go out and they won’t let us fly cause immigration is done.”
The situation in Abu Dhabi resulted in an ugly weekend for the airline, as a plane bound for Düsseldorf suffered a 13-hour tarmac delay that ended in the tragic death of a 73-year-old passenger.
In response to the delays, the airline issued a public statement.
“Etihad Airways apologizes to its passengers for the inconvenience that this major disruption has caused and thanks them for their patience during these extremely challenging few days.”
