A scary moment was in store for passengers flying from Orlando to Charlotte. The pilot had to make an emergency landing at the Jacksonville International Airport due to an electrical odor coming from the cockpit.
American Airlines Flight 608 was diverted to Jacksonville on Thursday morning. Many passengers, such as Heidie McDonald, said it’s what happened after they were evacuated that has them upset.
“It’s not a good reflection of their airline of how Jacksonville handled this today,” said passenger Heidie McDonald.
After passengers evacuated the airplane, they told Action News Jax they were instructed to go to the ticketing gate. Passengers received a card with a phone number on it so they could book an alternative flight over the phone. These diverted passengers said the agents on the line weren’t able to help them; instead they’d need to go to the ticket counter.
“They’re just saying ‘Oh, OK, good luck,’” said passenger Calvin Thompson.
An American Airlines spokesperson tells Action News Jax there was confusion because technicians were trying to evaluate whether or not the aircraft could be fixed and passengers could board again.
American Airlines sent us a full statement about the problem.
“At American, the safety of our customers and employees is our top priority. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience, and are working to get them to North Carolina as soon as possible. Our maintenance team has taken the Airbus A321 out of service while it conducts a thorough inspection of the aircraft. Once the flight was cancelled, our teams began rebooking passengers on other American Airlines flights out of Jacksonville International Airport.”
Passengers said there was a lack of communication and frustration when getting to their next flight because they had to go pick up their luggage from baggage claim, then, go through security again.
“My new flight is at 1:15 and I may not make that one either,” said passenger Jesscia Cole.
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