Passengers onboard a JetBlue flight from the Dominican Republic to Boston on Wednesday claim the plane was forced to make an emergency diversion when people started to pass out as the temperature started to rise due to a faulty air conditioning system.
JetBlue flight 1924 was already delayed by more than three hours due to a suspected broken air conditioning system, but passengers claim that the airline eventually decided to board the flight, telling them that the air conditioning should kick in once the plane was airborne.
After departure, however, the cabin allegedly didn’t get any cooler, and the pilots of the four-year-old Airbus A321 aircraft quickly diverted back to Santiago de los Caballeros Airport.
The president of the JetBlue flight attendants union said on Twitter that the cabin temperature reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius), resulting in passengers fainting and being sent to the hospital.
Tyesha Nicole Best, president of the TWU Local 579 union, said: “People fainting sent to hospital as flight had to divert. What are we doing about planes being sent out with constant overheating issues!?”
One passenger said the flight was the “absolute worst experience” and called for accountability form JetBlue. Julio Tavarez, a Mental Health Counselor who was hoping to fly to Boston, said on Twitter: “The flight was delayed due to the air conditioner not working. We get on the plane and it is burning hot.”
“They tell us once we start flying the air conditioner will start working. The air conditioner did not start working which led to us going back to Santiago.”
“This is terrible service and there needs to compensation and accountability for the lack of respect for our health, safety, and time,” Tavarez continued.
The plane landed safely back at Santiago Airport, where the passengers were deplaned.
In a statement, a spokesperson for JetBlue told us: “On Wednesday, July 12, JetBlue flight 1924 with scheduled service from Santiago, Dominican Republic to Boston returned to Santiago shortly after take off after it was determined the onboard climate control system was not functioning properly.”
“The flight was cancelled and we are accommodating customer with hotels and placing them on later flights. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
