13-07-2025
Engine Trouble Strands Delta Passengers on Remote Island for Over a Day
Two hundred and eighty two passengers on a Delta flight from Madrid to New York City were unexpectedly diverted to the Portuguese island of Terceira after an indication of engine troubles. The seven-hour flight turned into a 29-hour stay on the volcanic archipelago of the Azores.
Delta Flight 127 was forced to stop at Lajes Airport in Terceira on Sunday, part of a small group of islands called the Azores that sit around 1000 miles from mainland Portugal. Largely an island known for its abundance of cattle, Terceira has just one airport that is shared with a military base and only operates to a select handful of cities.
"As safety comes before all else at Delta, the flight crew followed procedures to divert to Lajes, Azores," a Delta Airlines spokesman said in a statement, "the flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels."
A new plane was sent from New York around five hours after the original plane landed in the Azores. It landed shortly after 2 a.m. and left later that night at around 9 p.m. on Monday. Passengers traveling from Madrid finally landed in New York at 10:22 p.m. — 31 hours after the expected time of arrival.
The 282 passengers on board the flight as well as the 13 crew members were given meals and rooms at nearby hotels while they waited for a replacement plane to come from New York to pick them up. It's expected they will also receive a full reimbursement for the flight.
Flight 127 — a 21-year-old A330 — remained parked at the Lajes airport for a number of days afterwards. As of Wednesday, it is currently back in service and continuing its usual flight from Madrid to New York City.
Engine Trouble Strands Delta Passengers on Remote Island for Over a Day first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 9, 2025
