LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Delta Air Lines flight scheduled to leave Blue Grass Airport on Tuesday morning didn't take off for more than seven hours after its initial scheduled departure.
Delta flight #2206, which was supposed to head to Atlanta at 6:56 a.m., didn't take off until around 2:30 p.m., according to the flight's status on the Delta app.
The Delta app says the plane arrived in Atlanta at 3:41 p.m. Tuesday.
"Delta apologizes to customers on flight 2206, which was delayed in operating scheduled service from Lexington to Atlanta, following extensive de-icing procedures and required maintenance," Delta Air Lines said in a statement.
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to Delta, there was a delay on the flight both for maintenance and de-icing before the plane ultimately took off at 2:28 p.m. Tuesday. The airline says overnight precipitation resulted in a coating of ice on the aircraft.
The flight pushed back from the gate at 9:08 a.m., according to Delta, and deicing started shortly after. During deicing, the crew let the deice team know that they had a maintenance issue that required a return to the gate. Once deicing was completed, the flight was towed back to the gate and blocked in at 11:00 a.m., according to Delta. Delta claims people were allowed to deplane at that time, and multiple people did deplane.
Delta says the flight re-departed the gate at 12:43 p.m. and started to complete deicing. This included ice not removed during the initial pass and also fluid that ended up freezing as the plane sat for nearly two hours from the 1st spray. The flight then took off at 2:28 p.m.
TARMAC DELAYS:
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's website, a tarmac delay occurs when an airplane on the ground is either awaiting takeoff or has just landed and passengers do not have the opportunity to get off the plane.
For flights departing from a U.S. airport, airlines are required "to begin to move the airplane to a location where passengers can safely get off before 3 hours for domestic flights and 4 hours for international flights."
The DOT also says airlines must provide passengers with a snack, such as a granola bar, and drinking water no later than two hours after the start of the tarmac delay.
