Passengers on 15-hour flight from New Delhi to Chicago diverted to Milwaukee due to storms

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Passengers on a 15-hour Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago were diverted to Milwaukee earlier Wednesday due to storms. They were forced to sit on the tarmac for hours.

A representative with the airport tells CBS 58 News that the plane arrived at 8 a.m. but it's the airline, not the airport who makes the decision if passengers can get off a plane. After four hours, they have to give you the option to get off. According to the US Department of Transportation, if you do get off during a tarmac delay, airlines are not required to let you back on.

One person on the flight says he was surprised just how long the wait had to be at first.

"They then proceeded to inform us, it would be a minimum of two hours before we could take off," one passenger said.

A new flight crew had to be bussed in from Chicago because the other crew had worked too many hours.

The plane eventually took off, bound for Chicago, shortly after 1:30 p.m.