JetBlue Passengers Left Waiting On Plane After Crew Leaves

WORCESTER, MA — Dozens of JetBlue passengers spent time on an idling plane on the tarmac at Worcester Airport Monday night after the pilot said staff had left for the night.

Passengers aboard flight 676 left JFK Airport in New York 35 minutes later than scheduled to Worcester Airport, according to records obtained through FlightAware.

Records also show the plane landed at the airport around 12:15 a.m. but did not park at the gate until after 1 a.m.

"It was silence, then the pilot said, 'I have something embarrassing to tell you guys — there is nobody to get you off the flight,'" Sabrina Ruelle told WCVB, who first reported the story on Tuesday. "They had no staff available to get us off the airplane!"

Eventually, police were called to help assist passengers off the plane. "The state police were there and they were going to have to evacuate us, but then they got a hold of a JetBlue manager and had to have him drive from his house to the airport to let us off the airplane," Ruelle told WCVB.

A spokesperson from JetBlue says the company is working to understand how a situation like this could happen.

"We are working with our business partner who operates our ground team in Worcester to determine why a crewmember was not in place at the jet bridge to ensure this remains an isolated incident," a spokesperson for JetBlue said in a statement Monday.

"Our records show customers on JetBlue flight 676 Monday were required to wait 45 minutes to deplane after landing. While we comply with all DOT regulations in the event of a tarmac delay, we know any delay is a frustrating situation and apologize for the wait," the spokesperson added.