A United Airlines flight from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Chicago experienced a near 20-hour delay on July 27, rerouting passengers through Green Bay, Wisconsin, due to severe thunderstorms in the Chicago area. The flight, normally about eight hours to Chicago with a connection to Denver, landed in Green Bay around 2 p.m. local time.
According to passenger Heather Fields, the ordeal began with a four-hour wait on the plane after landing. Fields reported that lavatory supplies dwindled and food ran out during this period. The situation worsened when the flight crew exceeded their duty time, prompting passengers to deplane and wait on the tarmac for approximately five additional hours.
Fields stated that passengers were led to a customs building near the runway, expecting to be processed. However, she claimed no agents were available, and they were made to continue waiting outside. During this time, some passengers, including an elderly woman and a person in a wheelchair, experienced discomfort. Fields recounted that while water was available for passengers to serve themselves, information about the ongoing situation was scarce. United Airlines provided pizza, but Fields noted it was not enough for everyone.
Severe weather, including seven reported tornadoes, hail, and high winds, impacted the Chicago area on July 27. These conditions were cited as the original cause for the flight's diversion.
After eventually being processed through customs at the Green Bay airport, Fields faced further delays at Chicago O'Hare, missing TSA before it closed. She ultimately arrived in Denver nearly 20 hours after her original scheduled arrival time.
Fields filed a complaint with United, initially receiving an offer of $200 in flight credits, which she found inadequate given the circumstances. The airline later increased the offer to $500 in credits and refunded some of her fees. United Airlines told the Daily Mail that they apologized for the experience, provided the customer with an electronic travel certificate, and refunded some fees as a gesture of goodwill. The airline also stated that Customs and Border Patrol in Green Bay allowed passengers to deplane into a controlled area on the tarmac and that the airline provided food and beverages while awaiting a new crew to operate the flight to Chicago.