CHILLY STOPOVER

Passengers Left Stranded on Freezing Island With No Luggage

They spent two days in a forced stopover with temperatures 100 degrees lower than their destination.

A transatlantic flight turned into a days-long travel nightmare for passengers dumped in a below-freezing Canadian city with only the clothes on their backs. Travelers aboard a British Airways flight from London to Houston, Texas, were diverted to Newfoundland after a medical emergency occurred mid-flight on Tuesday. The plane landed at St. John’s International Airport in Canada’s easternmost major city, a spokesperson for the airline tells the Daily Beast. Instead of being welcomed to Houston’s sunny 81-degree temperatures, passengers were forced to brave freezing 18-degree weather without their luggage, which they had been ordered to leave behind, and were told they would have to stay at a hotel in the city overnight before continuing on to Houston, reports the Daily Mail. However, their replacement flight the following day was instead slated to take them back across the pond to London—only to be abruptly canceled mid-boarding because of a technical issue, reports the Mail. Passengers again stayed overnight in the chilly Canadian province, ultimately being offered a flight to Houston on Thursday, which took off without issue. Passengers said the airline offered vouchers worth $660 for the inconvenience. Their unwanted two-night stay in Canada was also paid for by British Airways.