It’s a situation no one wants to be in — stuck on a grounded plane for hours. That’s exactly what happened to one Delta flight Sunday night at Asheville Regional Airport.
Flight Delay
Mark Little and his wife say they missed their first flight from Atlanta to Asheville, so Delta Air Lines booked them another. Turns out, that didn’t matter much as both of those flights were stuck on the tarmac for two hours.
Communication Issues
While passengers were stuck on the aircraft, some passengers mentioned that the Delta pilot told them there wasn’t a gate available for them to park at, that they were understaffed and they didn’t have communication from the terminal.
Mark says that after finally being released from the plane, it took another hour to get luggage.
“The pilot was frustrated but he was truly pointing the finger at the ground crew at Asheville. At least that’s how it was interpreted by the passengers on board.”
Airport’s Response
News 13 reached out to Asheville Regional Airport about this incident. They sent the following response:
Delta flight 2282, arriving from Atlanta on Sunday evening April 21, landed and was held on the taxiway for approximately 2 hours prior to being parked at a gate. Two aircraft gates (5 and 6) were unoccupied and available for airline use. We are unsure why passengers were told that a gate was unavailable.
“It should be noted that all flights are operated by airline employees – not airport employees (a common misconception). All airline staffing is managed by each individual airline to ensure they have the resources they need to park and deplane flights.”
They are in contact with Delta and expect a corrective plan soon.
Delta Air Lines Response
A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines shared some more background information about the incident.
He said Delta has two gates at Asheville Regional Airport. When Flight 2282 landed, both of the gates were being used by other Delta planes. They are looking into the incident to discuss ways to try and avoid having it happen again; this includes looking at staffing and talking with the airport and the other airlines about the common gates.
Conclusion
This incident of passengers waiting on the tarmac for two hours at Asheville Regional Airport has raised concerns about communication and proper utilization of resources between the airlines and the airport. Both Delta Air Lines and the airport management are actively investigating the matter to prevent such delays in the future.
