Several Delta Passengers Stuck on Tarmac at Boston Airport amid Heavy Snowstorm

Several Delta Air Lines passengers were stranded overnight at Boston Logan International Airport Sunday as heavy snowfall swept through the New England region.

Boston 25 reported that passengers on multiple flights landed on time, but a regional snowstorm prevented them from taxiing to the gate. Hundreds of passengers were forced to stay on the plane for two to three hours before they could exit the aircraft.

Some individuals were forced to wait even longer at the Terminal A baggage claim, where airport staff brought out green cots for them to sleep on.

The delays caused several passengers to miss connecting flights.

“We were on the runway for just under three hours, and now we’re here at the airport waiting for our luggage,” passenger Donna Smith told the outlet. Smith was traveling on a Delta flight from Indianapolis to Boston.

“We have no idea where it is or how long it will be until we get it,” she added.

Heavy snowfall was noted to be a factor in the tarmac delays. From Sunday night to Monday morning, 0.9 inches of snowfall was recorded at Logan Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

Across Massachusetts and New England, several vehicle accidents occurred on highways and roads, including in Worchester, where one to three inches of snowfall caused local police to respond to over 50 accidents, Fox Weather reported.

Delta released a statement Monday to various media outlets, apologizing for the delays:

We apologize to our customers who were inconvenienced and delayed due to winter weather in Boston. The event combined with deicing delays lead to backups for departing and arriving flights. We are working to recover our operation and resume a normal flight schedule throughout the day.

Airline companies are responsible for deicing planes, not airport officials. Furthermore, airlines are responsible for moving passengers to a location to safely get off and wait three hours for a connecting domestic flight and four hours for a connecting international flight, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As of Monday afternoon, 62 flights have been canceled at Logan Airport within the past 24 hours, according to flightaware.com.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.