Several passengers on a Detroit–Amsterdam Delta Air Lines aircraft were ill in the middle of their flight after consuming the airline’s spoiled meals, forcing the plane to be redirected to New York City.
Delta Flight 136, which had departed from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport for Amsterdam on the evening of July 2nd, was forced to make an unscheduled landing at JFK International after 4 AM on Wednesday, as reported by a flight monitoring website.
Delta Airlines apologized to passengers for the disruption and delay in their journeys, saying that this does not reflect the service they are renowned for.
According to FlightAware, the second leg of the New York–Amsterdam flight departed around 3:30 pm on Wednesday and was expected to touch down on Thursday.
For the second day running, meals have been removed from up to 75 international flights operated by Delta Air Lines. The caterer that supplied the reported rotted chicken on Wednesday’s trip from Detroit to Amsterdam, which several passengers complained tasted foul, is also responsible for those meals.
As a precaution, Delta announced on July 3 that it would offer customers a pasta-only meal choice on all overseas flights. On Thursday, the same strategy was also implemented.
Prior to an unexpected landing at around 4 AM, the flight crew of Flight 136 requested that medical professionals be present at the gate.
There were 277 passengers on board. The rotten, moldy food made almost a dozen of them sick. The pilot reportedly informed the travelers that the chicken had been tainted, according to passengers. Nobody on board needed special attention before the emergency landing.
Delta compensated travelers with hotel stays and meal vouchers. In a press release, Delta said its dietary safety team had contacted its suppliers to promptly remove the contaminated foodstuff and begin an exhaustive investigation.
According to Lisa Hanna, a spokesperson for Delta Corporate Communications, the airline deeply regrets the trouble this has caused its customers and the delay in their travel plans.
