Bad weather, poor visibility force Avelo flights to be diverted

NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) - Four Avelo flights headed to New Haven had to be diverted on Sunday.

According to Communication Manager Courtney Goff from Avelo Airlines, the flights were diverted to Wilmington Airport.

Wilmington Airport is an airport located in incorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington, DE.

The diversions were attributed to weather and low ceilings for visibility.

“Safety first is a standard for Avelo, and those flights are in the process of departing back to HVN as we speak,” the airline said in a statement over the weekend.

The diverted flights caused headaches for travelers.

“An hour and a half goes by, it’s 11:47 at night, one family has gotten off. We are on the plane, there is no water, the bathrooms have become atrocious,” said Amy Deeb from Newtown.

Deeb said she and the other passengers were given no guidance and no information as to what came next.

“We are reimbursing for hotel stays and if they chose to do ground transportation back to Connecticut. We are accepting receipts to consider reimbursement. All Customers are also receiving $100 in Avelo Travel Credits to use on a future flight,” Avelo said. “Keep in mind these diversions were all due to weather, so we are trying our best to do what we can to recover the flights quickly, accommodate customers and get our customers to their final destination. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Avelo continued to stick with its side. It said it wasn’t a perfect situation, but it was handled professionally and it will continue to strive to be better with customer service.

“You could give me $25,000, I will never fly that airline again,” Deeb told Channel 3. “I’m disgusted with their customer service.”

Those who stuck around were able to get a flight back to New Haven the next day.