Diverting To Your Final Destination; Possible?

lostsound · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:25 am

Last night this thought randomly popped up into my head so I thought I might as well post it here.

I'm wondering if it's possible or if you think this scenario has ever happened:

Your on your second last flight for the day, and your last flight is a bit of backtrack due to flight offerings and/or location. Suddenly an issue arises and your flight has to divert, apparently to your final destination airport.

Do you think this has ever happened? Do you think there's a chance it could?

Would you be able to get off that flight and stay or do you think due to head count and some sort of regulation every passenger would have to continue the flight afterwards?

Would you try? Or in order to keep all your luggage and flight accommodations simple, would you just deal with the extra flight.

Cheers!

FlyBTV · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:39 am

It's absolutely possible. Back when I worked in the airlines (about five years ago) we had a LAS-JFK flight divert to BTV. We had 147 people who were, on the whole, incredibly angry, and three BTV-bound passengers who were absolutely ecstatic that they ended up with a direct LAS-BTV flight. As JFK was under a ground stop, we allowed everyone off the plane to stretch their legs. The BTV passengers were allowed to head home and if I recall correctly, we were even able to pull their bags for them.

I'm sure if it happened once, it's happened many times. Of course, the aircraft isn't brought to the gate in every diversion, but I'd imagine that I didn't experience the only incident of this kind in the history of aviation!

[Edited 2013-01-11 21:41:16]

jetmatt777 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:40 am

I've heard of this happening. OKC frequently gets AA diversions from DFW when weather hits the metroplex. They will let you off, but your bags will stay on the original routing.

iahcsr · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:44 am

When there's Wx issues at IAH, flights divert to MSY,AUS,SAT,BTR... All of which can be the final destination for passengers on the diverted flights. Getting off the plane depends a great deal on chance. Does the plane get to a gate? Or just sit out on the ramp? Any bags are going to stay on the plane... That's a given.

GSPFlyer · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:45 am

Quoting lostsound (Thread starter):
Do you think there's a chance it could?

For me, there is a very good chance. During the summer, we get (almost daily) isolated storms in the region, it can be storming in ATL or CLT, while the weather is perfect here in GSP. It is a very popular diversion airport for transcon flights into CLT or Europe/Northeast flights into ATL.

While GSP doesn't have adequate customs facilities to accommodate a wide-body flight full of pax (they usually sit at the FX ramp), I assume domestic flights park at an open gate at the main terminal (never seen non-charter narrow-body A/C at the FX ramp, don't think there is anywhere else that they could park).

Quoting lostsound (Thread starter):
Would you try? Or in order to keep all your luggage and flight accommodations simple, would you just deal with the extra flight.

I would ask to see if it is possible, especially if my connection in ATL/CLT was lengthy, or there was a chance I could be stranded at either one over night. For me personally, coming back to pick up a checked bag wouldn't be an issue, as I only live a few minutes away.

MUWarriors · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:49 am

I know it has happened where flights have diverted to MKE on their way to ORD that had passengers bound for Milwaukee.One instance I remember for sure was an AF flight bound for ORD diverting to MKE, with a few people who wanted to end up in Milwaukee. In this case, since there were no customs agents available they wound up stuck on the plane for 2 hours, until the storms cleared Chicago and the flight continued on. I remember a similar incident I MKE, but they drove customs agents up from ORD to clear the passengers, who they bussed down after clearing customs in MKE, a few passengers just didn't get on the bus and went to the parking lot to get their car (obviously with the airline's consent), I believe that was a LH flight.

So to answer your question, yes it does happen, and how it plays out depends on the situation.

MesaFlyGuy · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:49 am

I have a similar question: What if you live near the airport to which you divert but it isn't your final destination? For instance, I live about 20 minutes away from ISP, but if I were on a flight to JFK that got diverted to ISP, could I be allowed to head home if we were given a gate?

Yflyer · Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:00 am

Just to add another example, my sister was once on a flight from EWR to MSP which diverted to MSN to to a snowstorm. At least one of the passengers on that flight was connecting to MSN anyway and was allowed to simply stay there.

tribird1011 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:11 am

Entirely possible -

There was 1 survivor in Tenerife from the KLM flight for that very reason.

Dazed767 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:21 am

Quoting flyBTV (Reply 1):
It's absolutely possible. Back when I worked in the airlines (about five years ago) we had a LAS-JFK flight divert to BTV. We had 147 people who were, on the whole, incredibly angry, and three BTV-bound passengers who were absolutely ecstatic that they ended up with a direct LAS-BTV flight.

Had a similar thing happen when I was flying on them 8-9 years ago. Flying MCO-JFK and we diverted to SYR. Several SYR pax were allowed off.

PanHAM · Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:24 am

I was on a flight from LHR to FRA which diverted to NUE due to weather here. The captan offered to those living in that area that they could leave in NUE which they all did, BTW amazingly about a third of the aircraft emptied. Only the bags hhad to stay on board, for those who had carry on only it was a gift, they made it home early. I stayed and we flew back to FRA with a delay.

It is the free choice of the individual where to go and what to do.

PHX787 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 6:31 am

I wasn't necessarily diverted but DL put me and my dad on the direct CVG-PHX flight back in 2010 instead of having us go to ATL due to weather.

warden145 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 7:15 am

Someone I used to know was flying from LGB to SFO on B6, and the flight ended up diverting to SMF due to weather at SFO and fuel state. Given that the fog at SFO wasn't looking to lift up anytime soon, I thought seriously about driving up to SMF to pick him up (we were driving north anyways, so it wasn't really that out of the way)...he asked a flight attendant if he could get off, and they were almost ready to deplane him when word came that SFO had cleared enough for them to attempt again. Even then, he was given the option of getting off, but at that point it made more sense to stay onboard.

That flight was only 5 hours late getting to SFO...

lotpilot16 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 7:47 am

It's happened about two years ago when a flight going from FRA-DEN diverted to ORD...for about 90 pax, ORD was the final destination. The remaining boarded another aircraft and continued to DEN.

RWA380 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 9:14 am

Quoting tribird1011 (Reply 8):
There was 1 survivor in Tenerife from the KLM flight for that very reason

That lady used all of her luck up front there. I think the most infamous example of this question in history by far, good memory. Although I knew the fact, I would not have put it together so fast.

To the OP, yes this has happened to me! I was flying AS ANC-SEA-PDX, our early AM arrival into SEA was met with ice and snow, but PDX was not having the same weather, runways were being cleared and readied for the busy 6a-8a departure window and we were sent down to PDX. Once on the ground there were a few going to PDX that were very happy we didn't have to deal with weather delays in SEA, those going to SEA were sent onwards once fueled up and SEA opened up again, the rest were reconnected via PDX. It saved me about 2 hours of travel time. AS does well with 2 hubs being that close to each other.

delawareusa · Sat Jan 12, 2013 9:20 am

Diverted once to PHL from BWI on a flight from Pittsburg. PHL is 30 miles from house, BWI is 80. The bad news was my car was at BWI.. Took Septa into Philly, then Amtrack to BWI then drove back. Made for a long night.

bluewhite · Sat Jan 12, 2013 9:29 am

Well, there have been flights (China domestic flights) which have diverted to Hong Kong before - a recent case being an A380. So you have people who want to get off at Hong Kong, head back across the border to nearby Shenzhen, take the ferry to Macau and those of course who just wanted to go to Guangzhou, as planned. The complication is that HKG (and MFM) are regional / international flights for Mainland airlines so you can imagine the facilitation that has to be arranged.

BW

skywaymanaz · Sat Jan 12, 2013 9:43 am

A friend of mine was on a Delta flight to BOS that had to divert to BGR, his final destination. Initially they didn't want to let anyone off thinking it would only be a brief delay. After awhile they let him and a few other BGR passengers off but with the notice that their bags would not be unloaded until BOS and put on the next flight to BGR.

I was on a USAir flight PHX-MCI diverted to OMA. At least 2 passengers did not reboard from what I overhead one FA say. There was no concern at all raised over this by the FA. I'm guessing they decided it worked out better for them then MCI for whatever reason whether it was their final destination or not.

GCT64 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:02 am

Occassionally, my LTN-EDI flight has diverted into GLA from EDI. In those instances, the captain has always given those with only hand baggage the option of deplaning at GLA rather than waiting for the problem at EDI to be solved. I've seen half the plane disembark at GLA under these circumstances. Because in the UK there is a requirement to match luggage with pax, it is rare that they will let pax off who have bags in the hold (because there is then a requirement to go and find the bag and remove it).

[Edited 2013-01-12 03:03:36]

us330 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 12:58 pm

Quoting lostsound (Thread starter):
Your on your second last flight for the day, and your last flight is a bit of backtrack due to flight offerings and/or location

Quoting jetmatt777 (Reply 2):
OKC frequently gets AA diversions from DFW when weather hits the metroplex. They will let you off, but your bags will stay on the original routing.

Yes. This is anecdotal, but I was on a DCA-DFW flight last year on AA that had to divert to AUS because of weather. Once it became clear that the diversion was gonna be more than 30 minutes, and a gate was available, AA allowed the passengers whose final destination was AUS to deboard. There was also an AUS-LAX flight that was departing within the hour with open seats on it, and AA allowed pax who were connecting to LAX to deboard and take the AUS-LAX flight rather than go back to DFW and connect there.
The bags, however, are not taken off the airplane--they remain on the original routing, and are delivered by the airline.

blueflyer · Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:17 pm

Happened twice with varying results.

First was a CO flight landing in DFW instead of IAH for what turned out to be a false alarm. We parked at a (very) remote stand for about two hours, and we took off with the same headcount.

Second was an AF flight inbound to CDG and diverted to BRU because of weather. The plane parked at a gate and passengers bound for BRU were offered the option to skip the train ride back and get off the plane, but without les valises de soute.

What I thought showed some quick thinking on behalf of the AF staff, a handful of passengers headed for another French city (I want to say LYS but I could be wrong) also got off to connect to a regularly scheduled flight about to leave BRU for their ultimate destination.

DouglasDC10 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:10 pm

Before BRE became a Ryanair base, HAM was the first alternate for flights into LBC. And as LBC's runway is not the best equipped, flight diversions due to weather into HAM became more often than desired.

As most Ryanair passengers flying from/to LBC come from or have a destination in the greater Hamburg area, a diversion into HAM came convenient for them. I remember that the staff only ordered coaches for a third of the passengers as the other two thirds stayed in Hamburg anyway.

The passengers in LBC waiting for the flight were less lucky. They only got the coach when the diversion was known well in advance, otherwise they were just rebooked on the next available flight or got their money back.

Today, HAM is best avoided and LBC and BRE serve as first alternate for each other. But if the situation does not permit a landing there as well, HAM and HAJ are used as second or third alternate.

burnsie28 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:11 pm

It happened before when I was up in GFK. MSP had some heavy snow so flights got diverted. There was a lady who's final destination was GFK, so she was able to get off. Better yet for her was she didn't have any checked bags, so she had a nice non-stop from PHL.

Mainliner · Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:11 pm

I was operating a LGA-BTV flight last summer. As we approached BTV, a large hail-producing thunderstorm developed directly over the airport. Not having the fuel to hold very long, we elected to divert to MHT. Thankfully, all of the pax seemed to be very understanding of the situation. But there was one group that was ecstatic, as they lived closer to MHT but had found a cheaper fare out of BTV. I'm guessing they were permitted to leave, since the flight ended up canceling and ops in MHT chartered a bus to take the pax the rest of the way to BTV, while we ferried the aircraft back to LGA.

DLX737200 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 2:47 pm

I remember several flights bound for MSP that diverted to OMA due to weather in MSP. 99% of the time we let the OMA bound passengers off, sometimes with their bags, sometimes not. If it was a mainline aircraft with bags buried deep, we usually told them they'd have to come back tomorrow and pick up their bags. If it was a light flight or small aircraft, we usually found their bag. Most passengers were just so happy to get off after a nonstop flight that they didn't care about their bags. As it was, most people coming into OMA were ending their trips, anyway.

TheSultanOfWing · Sat Jan 12, 2013 3:48 pm

Very possible!!

Once I flew Malaysian from KL to KK, with a connection to Labuan.
Due to weather my 1st flight got diverted........to Labuan.

I was the only pax bound for Labuan but when I made my intentions known to the cabin crew I was off in no time, with the rest of the pax waiting on board for their KK departure!
Strange to wait in that empty building, monitoring that empty luggage belt NOT moving.......but finally somebody came walking in with my bag!

Kudos to Malaysian!!

FH

Bobloblaw · Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:06 pm

This happened to me.

I was flying ATl-BMI but was going to PIA. We diverted to PIA due to BMI being below minimums. A bus was taking everyone to BMI. I just walked away and called my ride to come get me in PIA.

scallar · Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:11 pm

Back in the 80's my dad and some colleagues flew Moscow-Amsterdam-Copenhagen on KLM, and the flight had (for some unknown reason) to divert to CPH during the first leg. They were able to get off in CPH, but their bags got delivered to their homes the day after. Pretty convenient.

So... I guess it happens pretty regularly.

Mikey711MN · Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:15 pm

The single experience that I had with this is similar to others already posted...an AUS-DTW flight was diverted to IND for a medical emergency. At least a handful of people had IND as their final destination...

What was quite interesting was that there was a delayed IND-DTW flight that several there were waiting for and, subsequently, were at risk of missing some connections.

Logistically, I have no idea how they were able to pull it off, but several people boarded our plane (commencing to DTW as planned) to make their connections, and we weren't on the ground all that long such that we (myself included) made our connections too.

It really reopened my eyes to DL - I had flown this particular flight based solely on cost - and chose to fly them a bit more frequently for business thereafter.

-Mike

Italianflyer · Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

I have seen it several times in my career too. One time, we had the flight ORIGINATE at the alternate. The weather in MSP was going downhill, fast, and the forecast was ice fog and below minz for a full day. To keep the operation flowing, we repo'd several planes to GRB and operated key west and east coast segments from there. We operated an extra section A320 to GRB, picked up some incoming pax from BOS,DCA,LGA and then worked a sector to LAX. The locals were thrilled!!

canyonblue17 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:28 pm

Not only did I divert to my final destination, our flight technically broke federal law to do so. I was flying WN from TPA-HOU-DAL direct. Thunderstorms made it impossible to land in HOU so we diverted to DAL. TPA-DAL non-stops in a 137-seat aircraft are currently prohibited under the Wright Amendment. Now of course this is a technicality, but it was nice to arrive at my final destination 1-hour early. And the Wright Amendment will be completely gone (it is being phased out in stages) in 2014.

lemonkitty · Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:08 pm

I was flying PHX-HOU-CRP on Southwest Airlines back in 2003. I was supposed to connect in HOU for my flight to CRP, but the weather in HOU caused the airport to close..We diverted to..You guessed it!! CRP...My first and only time I have gone PHX-CRP non stop..I had no checked bags, so was allowed to deplane..Called my parents to come pick me up!!

LK

Scooter01 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 10:20 pm

Happened at least twice to me as far as I can remember.

First time was back in '83 when Oslo had two airports, FBU and GEN (today known as OSL), and when SAS still flew DC-10s, I was on a flight from New York to Stockholm via Oslo, to visit my parents that happened to live about 5 minutes from FBU. At that time GEN was used for LARGE aircraft. Due to thick fog the landing at GEN was aborted and it was announced that the flight was going to try FBU before it also got fogged in. Otherwise the flight would contiue to it's final destination. Guess who was crossing his fingers during the flight down to FBU. We landed at FBU just before the fog rolled in, I got on a cab to my parent's home, they had gone to GEN to meet me, and had the coffee ready for them when they got back to the house an hour later.

The second time was a few years later, after spending Christmas in Norway, we were supposed to fly back to Toronto via BRU and YMX. When checking in at BRU, we were told that a catering truck had hit our plane in Montreal the previous evening, and the flight was cancelled. However, we were offered to go to AMS and go on the KLM flight from AMS direct to YYZ......

Scooter01 <img border=0 src=" http:="" width="15" height="15" border="0">

[Edited 2013-01-12 14:52:12]

Edited trice for bad spelling

[Edited 2013-01-12 15:03:35]

[Edited 2013-01-12 15:06:21]

Viscount724 · Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:23 pm

Sometime in the 1980s I was on a CP flight YVR-YYZ with a connection to YUL. Due to a snowstorm at YYZ the YVR-YYZ flight diverted to Montreal except it went to remote Mirabel airport (YMX) instead of YUL. A few passengers, like me, had Montreal as their final destination. Originally they weren't going to let any passengers off at Mirabel but they eventually agreed to do so, however they didn't unload any checked bags (I only had carry-on) so anyone with checked bags wouldn't get them until the aircraft (a DC-10) had returned to YYZ and the bags were sent on to YUL.

In any case, I got to my hotel in downtown Montreal at least an hour earlier than with the original connection at YYZ.

Cubsrule · Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:49 am

Quoting ItalianFlyer (Reply 29):
One time, we had the flight ORIGINATE at the alternate. The weather in MSP was going downhill, fast, and the forecast was ice fog and below minz for a full day. To keep the operation flowing, we repo'd several planes to GRB and operated key west and east coast segments from there. We operated an extra section A320 to GRB, picked up some incoming pax from BOS,DCA,LGA and then worked a sector to LAX. The locals were thrilled!!

How about the situation where a flight diverts to the origin? It's not common (no diversions are, in the grand scheme), but it can certainly happen both on extremely short flights (on BNA-MEM, the alternate can certainly be BNA) and on longer ones (HNL-LAX, JNB-ATL, SCL-IPC). In that situation, there may well be some passengers who elect not to travel and get off.

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