Passengers lodge in military barracks after Amsterdam to Detroit flight is forced to land in Canada

DETROIT (AP) — Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit spent the night in a military barracks in eastern Canada after the plane was forced to land due to a mechanical issue.

The crew diverted the flight Sunday afternoon to Newfoundland and Labrador, WJBK-TV first reported.

Passenger Tony Santoro of Troy in suburban Detroit told the television station that passengers were lodged in barracks during the 24-hour delay. “It honestly felt like a hotel,” he said. “It wasn’t too bad. We had soap, water, everything.”

Delta flight 135 was diverted to Goose Bay airport “out of an abundance of caution,” the airlines told The Associated Press in a statement Tuesday. “Crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions at the Goose Bay airport causing the airport to suspend operations. Delta sent additional aircraft to Goose Bay to bring customers to their final destination Monday.”

Delta worked with officials in Goose Bay to arrange for food, water and accommodations Sunday into Monday, the airlines said, adding that passengers will be compensated for the inconvenience.

“We were extremely scared,” passenger Holly Dubbs told WXYZ-TV. “We were wondering why we weren’t getting informed until the very last minute. We had no idea this was an emergency landing. We were landing at an airport that wasn’t an international airport. It was very small. There was nothing around us.”

Santoro was returning home after studying abroad for several months.

“We can’t believe it’s real,” his father, Gerry Santoro, told WJBK-TV. “He’s actually home after four days of travel. They left Friday night from campus on a bus and every single delay it got more fantastical. Then when we heard they were doing an emergency landing … we just said this is the icing on the cake.”