MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - After spending three days stuck at Miami International Airport, Eastern Air passengers are relieved to be heading home for the holidays.
7SkyForce hovered above MIA as hundreds of Eastern Air passengers finally took off for Uruguay, Wednesday.
Previously, their flight to Montevideo quickly returned to MIA after take-off due to technical problems.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue met the plane and passengers on the tarmac after several tires blew when landing.
“This flight was three days ago, so it’s been pretty intense,” said passenger Julian Cohen.
While the passengers were stranded, so were their bags on the broken down plane.
“There’s a lot of people that couldn’t get their baggage until last night,” said Alex Martinez.
After the plane landed and passengers were escorted off Sunday, they said they were left without answers. No one from the airline could tell them exactly why the plane turned around, except for technical issues.
“It’s really just been a zoo, and it’s just a lack of communication that has been upsetting,” said Cohen.
Many of those passengers stayed at area hotels.
“The airline just kind of really dropped the ball here, especially during the holidays,” said Cohen.
7News reached out to Eastern Airlines. They said they experienced COVID-related delays and worked to return flights to their normal schedule so that passengers can reach their destinations.
As for the flat tires, they said, “Due to staffing issues, technicians were not able to provide maintenance on the aircraft.”
The Uruguayan government will accept their original COVID tests to get back.
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