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Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Remote Atlantic Surf Paradise

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Jul 11, 2025 2:50 PM ET

What was supposed to be a routine flight, on Sunday, ended in a travel nightmare for nearly 300 passengers. A Delta plane experienced mechanical failure halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, requiring an emergency landing in a remote, yet surf-rich, archipelago.

Flight 127 departed Madrid, Spain and was headed for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. A few hours into the flight, passengers reported a loud noise – something no air traveler wants to experience. The Airbus A330 had a mechanical issue in one of the engines, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in the Azores Islands.

The plane landed safely at an air force base, yet the passengers were delayed a whopping 29 hours. Sounds like the start of horror/thriller movie, huh?

“The handling in all of us and what was going on was…not good,” said one of the plane’s passengers. “I had five in my group. All of us were on the phone with Delta. We were never offered accommodations; we were never offered any help with food or anything else.”

According to a statement from Delta, "The flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels…[passengers] were accommodated overnight in area hotels and provided meals.”

The Azores is a raw and remote autonomous archipelago, part of Portugal’s domain, in the mid-Atlantic. Among its natural beauty, it’s known for pumping waves. Over the years, heavy-water hunters like Nathan Florence and Portugal’s own Nic Von Rupp have struck gold in the Azores, with the latter calling it “surfing paradise hiding in plain sight.”

And recently, it became the largest protected marine area in the North Atlantic.

Too bad none of the stranded passengers were surfers – at least, none we know of.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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