Hundreds of Delta passengers stranded on planes for hours, slept on cots at Logan Airport

BOSTON — Passengers on several Delta Airlines flights were stranded onboard for hours after landing in Boston Sunday night.

“We were on the runway for just under three hours, and now we’re here at the airport waiting for our luggage,” said Donna Smith, a passenger on a Delta flight from Indianapolis. “We have no idea where it is or how long it will be until we get it.”

Passengers on multiple Delta flights told Boston 25 News they landed in Boston on-time but taxied on the tarmac for hours before waiting at baggage claim for even more time.

“Once we got off the plane, we were able to come here to the terminal and that was almost two hours ago and we are still waiting for our baggage to come on the carrousel,” said passenger Dan Parlato. “There was an overhead announcement about an hour ago that the bags had been placed onto the ramp and they were just waiting for it to go to the carousel, but I have not seen it yet.” The delays caused some people to miss their connecting flights. Others’ flights were cancelled, forcing them to spend the night in baggage claim.

Boston 25 News cameras captured people sleeping on the ground before workers brought out green cots.

“We stayed on the cot, we didn’t sleep on the cots,” said George Herndon, a passenger on a Delta flight from Atlanta. “We’re not in a hotel because Delta said they don’t provide hotels because flights are canceled due to weather.”

Delta responded to multiple passenger complaints on Twitter, blaming the chaos on the weather, de-icing of planes, and excessive air traffic. “It is kind of ridiculous that you see all the canceled flights there and then you look outside, and you see there’s not really any snow,” said Herndon. “What’s the deal?”

Boston 25 News has reached out to Delta Airlines and officials at Logan Airport.

Delta sent us the following statement:

“We apologize to our customers who were inconvenienced and delayed due to winter weather in Boston. The event combined with deicing delays lead to backups for departing and arriving flights. We are working to recover our operation and resume a normal flight schedule throughout the day.”

When asked if the delays on the tarmac had anything to do with staffing issues at Logan, a representative from Massport referred to Boston 25 News to Delta Airlines.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2022 Cox Media Group