3 Hour Flight From Steamboat Springs To Atlanta Takes 3 Days
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - Ryan Morris, his wife and his kids will never forget the 3 hour flight that took 3 days. The other day they checked in with Delta Airlines in anticipation of their return to Georgia from Steamboat Springs, but the weather took a turn in Colorado's high country and there were no rental cars available.
Like many of the other 100 or so other passengers who were set to head out on the same flight from Yampa Valley Regional Airport, they had to get to a hotel. And some police officers found them a unique form of transportation.
"We relied on the local police department to borrow a bus from the Colorado Department of Corrections out here to drive them to a Best Western 30 miles away in Craig, Colorado. A prison bus," Morris said.
On Sunday, they returned to the airport with the other stranded passengers. By now Morris's sons Warner and Gunther and his wife Greta were getting impatient along with the other passengers on the flight.
"Everyone's ticked off by this point. We are told a rescue plane is coming in 2 hours. From where in 2 hours? Hold on a second," Morris said in a Zoom call as an employee started delivering an update to the crowd.
Then, passengers could be heard cheering which was apparently a sign of good news.
Morris says that rescue plane didn't show up Sunday night. So it was now to a friend's place in Steamboat Springs to spend Sunday night, as Ryan explained it.
"Bottom line rescue plane doesn't come last night and never comes. I got to run," he said hurriedly.
So he and the other passengers finally got on a flight from Delta early Monday afternoon. CBS4 checked and the aviation website Flight Aware showed it was in the air.
For the Morris family and the others, three days might have seemed like forever. CBS4 contacted Delta and received the following explanation:
"Due to a series of extenuating challenges with aircraft maintenance and available flight crews who have the required special qualifications to operate flights to and from Hayden/Steamboat Springs Airport, customers set to depart for Atlanta on Saturday were unfortunately delayed until this afternoon. Customers were provided overnight accommodations as this delay extended. We sympathize with our customers for this disruption to their plans and they have heard from Delta directly with an apology for this rare circumstance. Our customers expect more from Delta and we are committed to doing better by them all."
After arriving in Atlanta, Morris told CBS4 they received a refund and vouchers for future travel use. He added, "My kids are toast."
