United’s “Nightmare Flight” Stops In Reykjavík

A United Airlines flight from Athens, Greece to Newark, New Jersey made an unscheduled stop at Keflavík Airport, resulting in the flight arriving in Newark 10 hours after its scheduled landing time, reports RÚV.

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Right before the flight was scheduled to take off from Athens, one of the pilots tested positive for COVID. According to aviation rules, the long flight between Athens and Newark requires three pilots.

To avoid paying for 300 passengers to spend the night in Athens, United Airlines came up with a different solution. The plane could fly to Keflavík with only two pilots and then connect to Newark from there.

However, the crew needed a mandated rest period that resulted in the passengers having to stay in Athens for an additional five hours. A sick child was also taken off of the plane in Keflavík and the plane had to wait for a replacement medical kit.