Virgin America Flight's Grueling Delay, with grumpy crew

Virgin America Flight's Grueling Delay Compounded by Surly Staff

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/virgin-america ... 581&page=2

Virgin's flight 404 headed into New York's stormy weather at a time when winds were gusting up to 60 mph. After an extended amount of time circling, flight 404 was diverted to Stewart Airport, 60 miles north of the city.

There the plane languished on the tarmac for at least 4.5 hours. Passengers claim they stuck on the tarmac even longer. The plane ran out of food, and extra water had to be brought on board.

During this time guests were able to leave the aircraft via air stairs and several opted to do so. For those who chose to stay, the wait was grueling.

Eventually, the passengers were put on buses and driven into New York City, arriving about 2 a.m.

In his letter, Cush said, "There are many things that I could tell you to try to explain the situation and provide more context. Certainly, the weather at JFK was dreadful and flights were being diverted for most of the day. We also are not equipped to handle flights at Stewart."