A flight from Puerto Rico to Miami was diverted to the Bahamas. The passengers, without passports, said they could not leave the airport gate.
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When the pilot announced that American Airlines flight 2421 to Miami was diverting to the Bahamas last Saturday, Dimas Henriquez was focused on one thing.
"I don't have a passport," Henriquez, 26, told Business Insider. "I can't be in the Bahamas. I legally can't be there."
Henriquez and three friends had spent five days in Puerto Rico. They chose the US territory because Henriquez, a green card holder, didn't need a passport to visit.
After the weather diverted their Saturday flight, Henriquez said all the passengers, most of whom didn't have passports, were stuck for 14 hours at the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas, and couldn't leave their gate for food or water.
In a statement sent to Business Insider, an American Airlines spokesperson said that operating conditions prevented the aircraft from landing in the US.
"Operating safely is always our priority — especially in dynamic weather events — and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience experienced as a result of the weather," the spokesperson said.
@griptape_ Yes we stranded in the bahamas. We were locked in a glass box for 14 hours. We were constantly being told a plane was on the way. The American airlines staff had me handing out water and biscoff cookies because they wouldn’t do it. And that was only after hours of begging for ANYTHING. I tried my best to translate and keep everyone informed. The agent SAID she booked us on a flight to go home once we got to miami. I was then informed at The admirals lounge that was NOT TRUE either. We ended having to drive from miami to NC. The next flight wouldve been tuesday night. American didnt even offer a hotel voucher or help pay for our rental car. We got home after being awake for 44hrs! #puertorico #vacay #bahamas #stranded @American Airlines
♬ original sound - dimas
Initially, Henriquez's vacation was going according to plan.
His group of friends had an incredible trip exploring Puerto Rico. On Saturday, the day of departure, their flight from Puerto Rico to Miami was set to depart on time, as was their connecting flight from Miami to Charlotte, North Carolina.
If everything had gone smoothly, Henriquez and his friends would've been home around midnight.
The group boarded their 5:30 p.m. flight to Miami, and after about an hour in the air, Henriquez said he noticed that the plane was flying in circles.
Shortly after, he said their pilot announced they were rerouting to the Bahamas due to weather. According to the flight tracker Flight Aware, the plane landed at the Nassau airport at 8:44 p.m.
Henriquez described the next 14 hours as "mentally and physically exhausting."
Dimas Henriquez
He told BI the group was stuck on the plane for a couple of hours. When they finally disembarked, Henriquez said it was an all-or-nothing situation. Since most people didn't have passports, Bahamian border control wouldn't let anyone leave their airport gate. Representatives for Bahamas Immigration and the Lynden Pindling International Airport did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Henriquez said the airport's only restaurants were outside the customs area, which the group couldn't access.
"We're basically just in a glass box," he said. "It's like a zoo."
Shortly after, the flight crew timed out, meaning the flight attendants and pilots on board reached the maximum hours they could work in a day. Henriquez said gate agents told them another flight would arrive in two hours with a crew that could get them to Miami. But two hours passed, and the crew never showed up.
To add to the confusion, Henriquez said many passengers didn't speak English, so he served as the main translator, hopping on the speaker to announce updates in Spanish.
He said the cycle of being told a flight crew was on their way — and them never arriving — continued.
@italiankate @American Airlines #americanairlines #flight #flightdelay #customerservice
♬ original sound - italiankate
Henriquez also said that he and others didn't have cell service to contact the airline, reach out to embassies and consulates, or get more information on the situation.
"We're just waiting. I'm trying to crack jokes. I'm translating," Henriquez told BI. "After about hour four, people start getting a little frustrated."
Henriquez said the passengers, which included children, older adults, and a couple of dogs, weren't given water or food for hours.
An American Airlines spokesperson told BI that passengers were given food and water.
Henriquez said it took seven hours to get water, and the only food they received was Biscoff cookies and doughnuts the next morning.
Additionally, there was one bathroom for the entire group, and some passengers had medications left on board. Henriquez said gate agents wouldn't allow passengers to retrieve belongings off the plane, which sat on the tarmac for the duration of the delay.
"The worst was being in the Bahamas for 14 hours and running off Biscoff cookies and Diet Coke," he said. "If there was any food in the airport, I wouldn't know because they wouldn't let us go there."
The passengers gained hope the next morning when a new flight crew finally arrived. At 10:15 a.m., the passengers boarded the same plane and arrived in Miami an hour later on Sunday.
That wasn't the end for many passengers, including Henriquez, who missed their connecting flights.
Before boarding, a gate agent helped Henriquez and his friends get a new connecting flight to North Carolina. However, when they landed in Miami, he said the flight had disappeared from their American Airlines accounts, and an airline representative at the Miami airport told him there was no record of him being on the flight.
The next available flight wasn't until Tuesday — more than 48 hours later — and Henriquez said the airline wouldn't provide them with hotel vouchers.
Dimas Henriquez
Henriquez said he couldn't miss more work and didn't want to spend his own money for two nights in a hotel, so his group decided to book a rental car for $115.
"My first moment of relief was when we got the rental car in Miami, which American Airlines did not offer to pay for," Henriquez said. "The situation was now in our hands."
They spent the next 12 hours driving to Greensboro, North Carolina. Henriquez said he finally arrived home at 8 a.m. Monday — 32 hours later than initially planned.
Now that Henriquez is home, he's trying to figure out how to get a refund. He said one friend's refund request was denied through the American Airlines portal.
"At the end of the trip, my friends and I were awake for a total of 44 hours," he said. "I haven't received any refund or any apology from American Airlines."
