Passengers Stranded for 17 Hours at Maine Airport After Couple Smoking in Bathroom Forces Plane to Divert

NEED TO KNOW

• Plane passengers were stranded for over 17 hours and made to sleep on “rows of beds” in the airport after a “disruptive” couple caught smoking onboard forced a captain to divert to Maine
• The TUI flight had been traveling from Cancún, Mexico, to London’s Gatwick Airport on Tuesday, July 8
• “Everybody was fed up,” passenger Terry Lawrance, 66, recalled of the incident

Plane passengers were left stranded at an airport in Maine for over 17 hours earlier this week after a couple were caught smoking in the bathroom mid-flight.

On Tuesday, July 8, TUI Airways flight BY49 took off from Cancún, Mexico, heading toward London’s Gatwick Airport shortly after 4 p.m. local time. However, it had to be diverted to Bangor International Airport in Maine, per the flight tracking website Flightradar24. 

Before it switched destinations, the captain of the jet reportedly announced that two passengers had been smoking in the restrooms, adding that if it were to continue, he would have to land at another airport, reported the Associated Press.

After another three hours and 30 minutes passed, the captain told passengers the flight would be diverting to Maine. The plane reportedly landed at 9:30 p.m. local time, and the two people who had allegedly been smoking were taken off the flight.

British passenger Terry Lawrance, 66, claimed that people then sat in their seats for a further five hours, with the plane even taxiing to take off. However, due to legal working hours, the original flight crew ended up not being able to continue staffing the flight back to London.

TUI confirmed to PEOPLE that the plane had been diverted for safety reasons after some passengers onboard had become “disruptive.”

The airline added that a relief flight had been readied immediately, but due to U.S. immigration laws, passengers were not able to exit the terminal while waiting.

“This is now a case for the U.K. authorities, and we cannot comment any further on the disruptive nature of the passengers,” a TUI spokesperson said.

The flight back to London’s Gatwick Airport ended up taking off on Wednesday, July 9 at 3 p.m. local time, and videos taken by passenger Lawrance showed rows of beds of passengers waiting for updates before its departure.

He claimed that passengers were kept in a room inside the military airbase section of the airport, for over 15 hours as the airline worked to sort out a new crew before the flight eventually took off.

Lawrance recalled, “We were there for over 12 hours – it all went pear-shaped. Everybody was fed up,” per the Associated Press.

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“In fairness, they started bringing out airbeds, but it was like free-for-all for vultures,” Lawrance continued. “It was like a warzone in a lounge – rows and rows of beds. All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited.”

“TUI told us a relief crew was being sent from the U.K. because the current crew had used up their hours,” the passenger added.

TUI confirmed to PEOPLE that all passengers are now safely back at home.