MIAMI — Passengers on an American Airlines (AA) flight were left stranded overnight in The Bahamas after the domestic flight was diverted.
In a now-viral TikTok, AA passenger Dimas Henriquez stood in an airport terminal in The Bahamas and described being trapped for hours. He said his domestic flight from Puerto Rico (U.S. territory) to Miami was diverted.
“When I woke up, we were still in the air. My friend nudged me and said, ‘We’re landing in The Bahamas.' I immediately say, ‘I can’t be in The Bahamas, I don’t have a passport at all.’”
Henriquez described the entire situation in the interview that's garnered nearly two million views.
In a statement to WFAA, a spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed that on Aug. 3, AA flight 2421 from Puerto Rico (SJU) to Miami (MIA) was impacted by severe weather, and as a result, diverted to Nassau (NAS) in The Bahamas.
The airline said operating conditions prevented the flight from safely diverting to an alternate location in the U.S. mainland. Once the plane landed in The Bahamas, the flight experienced further delays due to weather and FAA-mandated crew rest requirements, the airline said.
“We’re not allowed to be here,” Henriquez said in the video. “We can’t do anything. No food, no water, it’s cold, no blanket. We have one bathroom for 100 people, dogs, children, no information.”
Henriquez said the flight crew left for the day, leaving passengers stranded for more than 14 hours. In the video, Henriquez described a lack of food and water for several hours and said staff eventually provided soda and Biscoff cookies.
American Airlines said in a statement that customers were provided food and water at NAS airport.
“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience experienced as a result of the weather.”
The TikTok video is flooded with comments as users asked how the story ended and called the entire situation unacceptable and terrifying.
Once the flight eventually arrived in Miami, Henriquez said a flight to his final destination of Charlotte, North Carolina, wasn’t available for another two days. He decided a rent a car with his own money instead and arrived home after a 13-hour drive and a total of 44 hours awake.
Henriquez told WFAA he requested a refund of $302 for his disrupted flight, but said the airline denied his request.
“I want a refund, please,” Henriquez said. “That was really awful. You had me locked in a glass box for 14 hours, it’s kind of crazy.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) delayed or canceled flight guide, bad weather and other issues are hard to predict and often beyond the airlines’ control.
Some airlines may not offer amenities if the delay is caused by bad weather or other factors beyond the airline’s control. For domestic itineraries, airlines aren’t required to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled due to bad weather, the DOT says.
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