(News) – The desire to get off a landing plane is a feeling familiar to almost every air traveler. But for those passengers who were on JetBlue Flight 676 early Tuesday morning, there was a strange problem: There were no JetBlue employees at the airport to escort them off the plane. The flight from New York JFK Airport to Worcester Regional Airport was a 150-mile brisk walk that ended at 00:15, according to WCVB. A passenger told the station that after sitting on the runway for a while, the pilot made an announcement: “I have something embarrassing to tell you guys, there’s no one to take you off the flight.”
The Massachusetts State Police arrived at the scene with the intention of evacuating the passengers, but the JetBlue manager was able to be called back to the airport. “We are working with our business partner, who manages our ground team in Worcester, to determine why the crew member was not at the boarding bridge to ensure this incident remains isolated,” JetBlue said in a statement.
“Our records show that passengers on Monday’s JetBlue Flight 676 had to wait 45 minutes to exit the plane after landing,” the statement said. “While we comply with all DOT regulations in the event of a runway delay, we know that any delay is an unfortunate situation and we apologize for the wait.” Commercial flights have been suspended for about a year at Worcester Airport due to COVID; JetBlue became the first airline to resume them in August, according to Telegram & Gazette. (Read more JetBlue stories.)