Some passengers on a Delta flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta were overcome by triple-digit temperatures Monday as their plane was taxiing and waiting for takeoff.
At least three people were reportedly taken off the flight on stretchers; after a four-hour ordeal, the other passengers were able to leave the plane and the flight was canceled.
Fox Business reported the emergency after a Fox News producer aboard the flight alerted the network. In a tweet, the Fox employee, Krista Garvin, said she saw at least three people being wheeled off the plane by paramedics.
“Oxygen tanks are being pulled out,” Garvin tweeted. “They said to press your call button if you need medical assistance. Babies are screaming crying. They’re handing out sandwiches to the diabetics.”
Delta confirmed the heat emergency aboard flight 555 and apologized to its passengers in a written statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. Atlanta-based Delta said it is investigating “the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin” at Harry Reid International Airport. Temperatures in Las Vegas reached as high as 114 degrees on Monday afternoon.
Delta said Wednesday there were 197 passengers aboard the aircraft, with two pilots and four flight attendants. At least two people, including a flight attendant, were transported to a hospital. Garvin tweeted that she saw three people being taken away on stretchers.
The Las Vegas emergency came as extreme heat around the nation is affecting flights departing from some airports, including Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix, which have endured scorching triple-digit temperatures this week.
The Fox Business article said some passengers aboard the Delta jet passed out and paramedics boarded the plane. After four hours, passengers were asked to disembark. The flight, which was originally scheduled to leave Las Vegas at 1:47 p.m., was canceled.
“We apologize for the experience our customers had on flight 555 from Las Vegas to Atlanta on July 17,” Delta said in the statement. “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.”
The airline apologized and said it made a “compensatory gesture” to customers and accommodated them on other flights.
In addition to troubling effects on health, heat also affects flight operations.
High temperatures also reduce air density, which can mean aircraft must be lighter to get off the ground safely – especially at airports at high altitudes that already have lower air density as a result.
That affects aircraft “weight and balance” calculations. In extreme cases, some airlines may have to delay takeoffs or offload passengers or cargo from smaller aircraft.
A 2021 study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looking at rising temperatures and predictions for airlines’ heat-related expenditures in 2035 and 2050 found that airlines’ aircraft and passenger costs could increase 29% to 49%, on average.
Delta has a hub in Salt Lake City that is affected by extreme heat, along with flights departing from Las Vegas and Phoenix.
“Additional protocols have been put in place to address the operational impacts extreme heat has on aircraft,” Delta said in a statement.
The airline said to address the issue on its affected flights, less fuel is loaded onto the aircraft, and some longer flights require a fueling stop.
Delta said it also increases baggage handler staffing during heat waves to allow workers to take more frequent breaks.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said its infrastructure “is capable of handling the hot temperatures” and its operations and maintenance teams monitor the airport’s infrastructure.
The Atlanta airport’s safety teams also direct employees to “remain well-hydrated, take more frequent breaks as needed, wear appropriate clothing, and monitor themselves and their employees for signs of heat-related illnesses”
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