Several Delta Air Lines passengers on a flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta were removed from the aircraft on stretchers.
The passengers were said to have been overcome by high temperatures onboard as the aircraft was taxiing out and waiting for takeoff. Apparently the wait was hours long, some passengers on board the flight stated. When the aircraft arrived back at the gate, other passengers left the plane and the flight was canceled.
A Fox News producer who was on board the flight alerted their network. The Fox employee, Krista Garvin, tweeted that at least three people were removed from 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. A statement given to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the company was investigating “the circumstances that led to uncomfortable temperatures inside the cabin” at the Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport. Temperatures in Las Vegas reached 114 degrees on that day.
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 Fox Business news article said some passengers passed out and paramedics boarded the plane. After four hours, passengers were asked to disembark.