Passengers were stuck on plane for 7 hours with no air conditioning, no food or water provided, woman says

(WFSB/Gray News) - Seven hours in unbearable heat, with no food or water available: That’s how one Connecticut woman is describing her experience with a delayed international flight that ended up being canceled.

Now the U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating.

In a TikTok that has since gone viral, critical care nurse Christine Ieronimo is heard telling a United Airlines worker about the experience she and hundreds of other passengers just went through.

“The girl had a panic attack and passed out. We had elderly people, we had babies. We had pregnant women, not even water. You didn’t even pass around water,” says Ieronimo.

Ieronimo and the passengers are seen in the video standing at their gate in Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Their flight was delayed for seven hours, canceled at 1 a.m.

The passengers tell the worker, “We were trapped on that plane for 7 hours in 70-80 plus heat.”

“It was hot, thick. It was hard to breathe,” says Ieronimo. “I’m surprised somebody didn’t die because there were elderly people on the plane.”

The passengers were headed to Rome on an overnight flight July 3 when shortly after being seated, things started to go wrong.

“We noticed it was getting hot. The air conditioning wasn’t working,” said Ieronimo.

The plane headed back to the gates, mechanics jumped on, and the problem seemed to be fixed.

But then, as they waited to take off., “It started getting hot again,” said Ieronimo.

That’s when Ieronimo says the captain announced the plane was going back to the gate and they’d be getting off, a process that took over three hours.

“People were taking off their shirts, and women were in sports bras, it was just so hot. It became unbearable and there was no ventilation,” said Ieronimo.

“During the seven hours, nothing was ever offered. Nobody even offered water,” she said. “‘What do you want me to do?’ was the exact quote I got from one of the flight attendants.”

Ieronimo said she watched elderly people sweat, a baby was crying, and a young girl almost passed out.

“She must have had a panic attack. And she was vomiting,” said Ieronimo.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “Airlines must provide passengers with food and water no later than two hours after the tarmac delay begins.”

And even United policy claims, “United will provide adequate food and potable water no later than two hours after the start of the tarmac delay, unless the pilot-in-command determines that safety or security considerations preclude such service.”

United Airlines hasn’t responded to questions about what happened and what compensation is available for passengers.

“If the CEO - Scott Kirby’s parents were on that plane, would he have done something?” said Ieronimo.

Ieronimo said passengers were left in the airport, with no accommodations or food -- and a canceled flight.

A link United said passengers could click on for help wasn’t working. That’s what sparked the conversation that later went viral.

Ieronimo said her family eventually found rooms and were able to book new flights for the next day at their own expense, which added up to $4,000.

United’s offer of compensation? Vouchers worth $400.

She now has a message for United’s CEO.

“I think he needs to figure out how he is going to compensate all of us because it was a pretty horrific experience,” said Ieronimo.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Transportation said in part: “The Department takes any violation of airlines’ tarmac delay obligations very seriously and is investigating the referenced incident involving United.”

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