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47 Trapped on 9-Hour 'Nightmare' Flight

By Polly Davis Doig, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 10, 2009 10:24 AM CDT

(Newser) – If 9 hours on a grounded puddle-jumper with screaming babies and the scent of overly busy toilets wafting through cramped aisles sounds like your idea of a good time, then Continental Airlines had your ticket to paradise. When storms forced a Minneapolis-bound flight to divert to Rochester, Minn., on Friday, a comedy of errors forced the plane to sit on the tarmac overnight, passengers locked in, the Star-Tribune reports.

Here's what went wrong:

The crew maxed out its hours, and another crew had to be brought in.
A chartered bus didn't come through.
The kicker? Airport personnel couldn't let passengers in because they would have had to go through security again—and security workers had gone home.

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (1)]

Continental Airlines passengers wait in line to check bags July 21, 2009 at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images)

A Continental Airlines plane arrives at the gate July 21, 2009 at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images)

A Continental Airlines aircraft lands at the runway of Ronald Reagan National Airport August 16, 2006 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

People wait at the Continental Airlines ticket counter at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images)

Swissport Fueling employee Gil Hammond watches fuel gauges as he refuels a Continental Airlines jet at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, November 14, 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Getty Images)

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It's not like you're on a [Boeing] 747 and you can walk around. This was a sardine can. And they've got about 50 people inside, including babies, for the whole night. It was a nightmare.' - Passenger Link Christin

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