Most people don’t bring their passports with them when they fly domestically, but one traveler discovered it could be a mistake.
In a video posted by @ItalianKate on TikTok, she filmed another passenger (@griptape_ on TikTok) as he explained how their flight from Puerto Rico to Miami ended up with them stranded in an airplane terminal.
He explained in the video with 1.5 million likes and 8.2 million views that they were on American Airlines Flight 2421 and had been circling for two hours before the pilot announced they had to land in the Bahamas, where the passengers would disembark.
“Puerto Rico to the US is a domestic flight,” the person explained. “This is another country.”
He added: “We landed at 8:30, now it’s 5:40 in the morning.”
Because they were on a domestic flight, when the pilot asked who had their passports, no one had them – meaning they couldn’t leave the terminal, let alone the airport, because they couldn’t legally go through customs.
The speaker explained that most of the people on the flight only spoke Spanish, so he had to translate the information from the gate agents over the loudspeaker.
Old people and dogs were among those stuck in the terminal, and during the seven hours they were there, they had only Biscoff cookies as a source of food.
He explained that they were only able to speak to the two gate agents, who were sharing as much as they could, but American Airlines would not release any information.
“Now people have medical emergencies and things like that, we have medicine on the plane… They told a gentleman here that he can’t come in and get it,” the man said.
“We have a bathroom for 100 people, dogs, children”, he continued. “Hopefully we’ll get a refund at the end of this.”
The average time for a flight between San Juan, Puerto Rico and Miami, Florida is about 2.5 hours, and by the time the TikTok was filmed, it had been about nine hours since they left Puerto Rico.
According to American Airlines, passengers were put in this rare situation due to the weather.
“On August 3, American Airlines Flight 2421 with service from Puerto Rico (SJU) to Miami (MIA) was impacted by bad weather and diverted to Nassau (NAS),” an American Airlines representative told Thrillist.
“The flight continued to the Ministry of Interior as the atmospheric conditions allowed us to do so safely. Safe operation is always our priority – especially in dynamic weather events – and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused as a result of the weather.”
However, the airline did not say whether or not passengers on the flight were compensated for their trouble and time in the Bahamas.
Moral of the story: It can never hurt to bring your passport on domestic flights too, especially when flying to areas known for storms or hurricanes.
“One of the benefits of traveling between the US and Puerto Rico is the fact that you can travel without a passport,” Going travel expert Katy Nastro told the media.
“That’s not to say you can’t use your passport as a form of identification, so if it gives you a bit more peace of mind (of travel), then go for it.”
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Image Source : nypost.com