Delayed flight sits for hours at Dulles

DULLES, Va. - American Airlines is apologizing for a flight where more than 100 passengers had to sit on the tarmac at Dulles International Airport early Monday after their flight was diverted from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

First, the plane got a late start taking off from Miami.

Then, while in the air, the flight was redirected from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Dulles because of strong thunderstorms.

"The captain elected to go fly into Dulles where there was only light rain," American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith tells WTOP.

"We regret the inconvenience, but the decision has to be safety first."

The flight, which was supposed to land at 11:55 p.m. landed at 1:10 a.m. at Dulles.

Once at Dulles, the plane sat on the runway.

A passenger tells Channel 4 that at the start of their long wait passengers were not even allowed to use the restrooms and that the cabin crew didn't offer the passengers any water or food.

Airport spokesman Rob Yingling tells WTOP Radio it took until nearly 3:30 a.m. before passengers finally made it into the terminal. Dulles sent out a mobile lounge to get the people off the plane.

When the passengers were allowed off the plane, they had to wait until 4 a.m. for their luggage because American didn't have personnel on duty.

"We have a relatively small operation at Dulles and it was already closed up," Smith says. "It took a while for us to call in some additional employees from home."

(Copyright 2008 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)