Passengers stranded in minus 30C temperatures for 18 hours at frozen Canadian airport

Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, is in the far north-east of Canada - Viktor Posnov
Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, is in the far north-east of Canada - Viktor Posnov

Hundreds of passengers were stranded in freezing conditions for 16 hours after their plane diverted to sub-Arctic Canada due to a medical emergency and then suffered a mechanical issue.

United Airlines Flight UA179 took off from New York on Saturday afternoon bound for Hong Kong but was forced to turn back above Greenland and land at Goose Bay air force base in Newfoundland and Labrador so that a passenger could receive urgent care. However, before the plane could continue on its way east, the severe cold caused a malfunction with an aircraft door and it was unable to close.

“Please help us. This is an emergency, United. People are not doing well. Running low on food,” tweeted professional wrestler Sonjay Dutterson, who was on-board the Boeing 777, along with 249 other passengers and the crew. Temperatures outside reached minus 30C during the ordeal, with the cold seeping into the aircraft through the broken door.

Over the course of the delay, passengers were taken to the tiny airport’s customs area in groups of 20 to stretch their legs but were not allowed to leave the Canadian Air Force base due to limited immigration capacity. As food supplies began to run low, meals from fast food chain Tim Hortons were delivered to passengers.

Dutterson, who was on his way to Macau for a bout which he eventually missed, said the pilots were giving out the email address of the United CEO so that passengers could voice their displeasure.

Steven Lau, also on board, tweeted: “Nearly eight hours of sitting in a United plane on the tarmac in Newfoundland and Labrador, waiting for the supposed ‘rescue plane’ to arrive. But Google Maps tells me I could walk to New York in about 20 days, so keeping that option on the table.”

Another passenger, Rose Kazan, tweeted: “This is so incredibly bad. UA, this is the all-time worst customers experience I have ever had. Shame on you. Stranded for 12 hours.” She praised the “absolutely amazing” crew for their “effort and empathy”, however.

As well as numerous passengers taking to Twitter to detail their discomfort, a new parody account was set up in the name of the beleaguered flight, called Save United 179.

A spokesperson for United Airlines said the flight was originally diverted to Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL, due to a medical emergency, where medical personnel met the plane and brought the passenger to hospital, but that a mechanical issue prevented it from taking off again.

United sent a replacement plane with food, mechanics and a new crew to attempt to fix the door or return passengers to Newark. The airline apologised to those affected in a statement and said it would do everything possible to assist them.

Goose Bay is one of a number of small air bases that operate as a designated emergency diversion airport, poised to welcome aircraft with medical or mechanical emergencies, often in coastal areas ahead of long ocean crossings. In January, the average temperature high is just -12.7C, with daily lows of -22.5C.