Travelers trying to leave the Island this weekend had to spend a night in cots at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
On Saturday, dozens of passengers traveling to Washington, DC and New York found themselves stranded when JetBlue canceled two flights.
According to Martha’s Vineyard Airport director Geoff Freeman, the cancellations occurred because of poor weather conditions in the New England area and the passenger’s final destinations.
NBC4 Washington reported that powerful storms on Saturday felled trees and left tens of thousands of residents without power in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. New York also had a severe thunderstorm watch on Saturday, CBS New York reported.
Additionally, the flights were delayed because the crews “timed out” from their shifts. Per Federal Aviation Administration regulations, commercial flight crews are required to take rest periods after a certain amount of flight time. Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission chair Bob Rosenbaum said one of the planes started to board people but stopped the process because the crew had timed out, leading the plane to be emptied.
To accommodate the stranded passengers, airport staff, the West Tisbury Police Department, West Tisbury Emergency Management, and the Oak Bluffs Fire Department worked collaboratively. Many fliers needed assistance not being able to book a hotel; also, Steamship Authority ferries were not available, Freeman said.
Oak Bluffs Fire Chief Nelson Wirtz said around 45 individuals were sheltered at the airport Saturday night. “There were many more passengers who were stranded, but they had other places they could stay,” he said.
For those who needed a place to sleep, Wirtz’s team brought cots from Oak Bluffs School, which acts as the regional emergency shelter. The cots were returned on Sunday morning.
“It was an unusual occurrence, but in emergency management and fire/EMS service, if we are called for any event, we do our best to mitigate it” Wirtz said.
Although the airport terminal typically closes after the final flight departed, the situation called for it to remain open. Freeman, who has been with the airport since 1987, said this is the first time he has seen this many passengers stranded at the airport.
“This is the first time we’ve had this many people stay in the terminals,” he said.
A police presence remained at the airport overnight as a precautionary measure, but West Tisbury Police Chief Matt Mincone said the passengers were understanding.
“Everybody was okay with the situation,” Mincone said.
The officers present also supported the individuals stuck at the airport. In one instance, an officer provided diapers to a mother for her baby. “It’s good to see that part of it, giving the people what they need,” Mincone said.
Mincone added that they may need to develop a contingency plan in case a similar situation occurs again.
“It was a last-minute situation that I’m surprised I haven’t dealt with, [at] the airport, before,” Mincone said, crediting “quick-thinking people” and the available resources.
The airport was able to return to normal operations by the next day.
When asked how many people were affected, Freeman said he did not have a “verified number” of individuals impacted by the two canceled flights. He referred The Times to West Tisbury emergency management director Russell Hartenstine, who was not immediately available for comment.
Impacted fliers were later rebooked to other JetBlue flights or with other airlines, like Delta or Cape Air.
“On Saturday, July 29, JetBlue flight 1413 with scheduled service from Martha’s Vineyard to Washington, DC was canceled after a series of events including extended holding due to weather and air traffic control restrictions,” JetBlue spokesperson Derek Dombrowski said in an email. “The aircraft eventually needed service after this extended holding, which was not able to be performed. Customers were provided with food and other items to make them comfortable while we worked to accommodate them on other flights. We apologize for the disruption to our customers’ travel plans. A $300 JetBlue credit will be issued to our customers as a token of good will.”
Dombrowski said he will get back to The Times regarding the canceled New York flight. Rosenbaum said to The Times he was told the fliers were left without food. Dombrowski said he will look into this.
The JetBlue flight kerfuffle was just one of the difficult situations the airport experienced this summer, with two private planes being forced to make emergency landings earlier this month. In June, a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at the airport because of an engine malfunction.
“It’s been a challenging summer, to say the least,” Freeman said.
