LAS VEGAS – Nevada‘s triple-digit heat is to blame after multiple airline passengers became ill Monday while awaiting takeoff for hours on a scorching tarmac in Las Vegas.
A flight from Harry Reid International Airport was scheduled to arrive at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 1 p.m. EDT. However, the plane never took off and sat on the tarmac for more than 3 hours, according to FOX News field producer Krista Garvin, who was aboard the flight.
Temperatures in Las Vegas reached 114 degrees at 2:28 p.m. local time Monday. It was 2 degrees short of a daily record high, and 3 degrees shy of the city’s all-time record high.
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Garvin said she felt like a dog trapped inside a parked car on a hot summer day as she was waiting to take off. She also said there was no air conditioning on the plane.
After about two hours, things began to go south for many passengers on board after the pilot instructed passengers to “hit your call button if you’re having a medical emergency.”
According to Garvin, the airline said passengers could deboard the plane, but it could possibly take days to get another flight to Atlanta
“The sanitary crew came on board because some people had thrown up,” Garvin said. “I want to say one woman walked up the aisle. She was visibly ill. She couldn’t even open her eyes. She was swaying back and forth.”
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Garvin said the ill woman ended up sitting in the front of the plane as crew members put an oxygen mask on her.
At least five people were seen being wheeled off the plane, according to Garvin. After four hours on the plane, stretchers were brought onboard as passengers were asked to disembark back into the airport, Garvin said.
FOX Business News reported passengers were later told that flight attendants had also fallen ill. Garvin said one flight attendant was wheeled out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on.
Delta Airlines acknowledged that at least one passenger was treated by emergency personnel for heat-related problems. They also apologized for what they call “a series of unfortunate events” in Atlanta.
“We apologize for the experience our customers had on flight 555 from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 17, which ultimately resulted in a flight cancellation,” the airline said in a written statement to FOX Business News. “Delta teams are looking into the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin, and we appreciate the efforts of our people and first responders at Harry Reid International.”
Passengers were rebooked and compensated for their travel.