A plane carrying ICE detainees found itself stranded on the tarmac for 13 hours due to a historic winter storm in New Hampshire over the weekend.
The flight, chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), took off from Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas, shortly after 8:15 PM CST on Sunday.
However, upon landing at Portsmouth International Airport for refueling just after 1:00 AM EST, the severe weather conditions prevented the plane from taking off again.
An ABC affiliate, WMUR, reported that the aircraft couldn’t be towed, as the storm brought gusts reaching 50 miles per hour.
The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose the number of detainees on the 290-seat aircraft, but a spokesperson assured that they received catered meals, drinking water, restroom access, and necessary prescription medications.
ICE personnel conducted ‘regular welfare checks’ to ensure the passengers’ well-being while they waited for the situation to improve.
However, the decision to take off amid the storm has been criticized by New Hampshire representatives as well as activists who branded it ‘inhumane’.
Tiffany Eddy, a spokesperson for Pease Development Authority and PSM, told the Daily Mail that they were not told the flight was inbound until just 15 minutes before arrival.
A flight carrying detainees was grounded for hours at Portsmouth International Airport on Sunday. Pictured above is an exterior view of the airport
The flight departed from Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas just after 8.15pm on Sunday and landed early Monday morning in New Hampshire
New Hampshire was under a blizzard warning until 10pm on Monday. The state was hit with heavy snowfall and strong gusts of wind from Sunday night into the day on Monday. Pictured above is a Derry resident shoveling after the storm on Monday
The plane, a Boeing 767-300, was chartered by Omni Air, a private flight company. Port City Air operates the airport and is responsible for weather-related issues.
‘Portsmouth International Airport (PSM) was not advised that this flight was inbound, despite our proactive outreach prior to the storm to account for all airlines planning to use the airport,’ Eddy said in a statement.
‘Had we been informed in advance of their intent to land at PSM during the blizzard, we would have strongly advised against it and encouraged them to divert to another airport not being impacted by this severe winter storm.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Omni Air and Port City Air for comment.
Port City Air told the Boston Globe that decisions about incoming and outgoing flights are made by DHS.
‘It is our legal obligation to safely service any flights into or out of the airport,’ the company said in a statement, adding that operations continued during the storm.
A staffer at Omni told a reporter with New Hampshire Public Radio that it is a charter airline and ‘do not give out classified information’ when asked for comment over the phone.
Eddy added that despite the ‘unexpected arrival’ airport staff coordinated with DHS to provide space within the terminal to accommodate all passengers.
A representative for DHS said that detainees had access to meals, water, a bathroom, and medications during the delay. A photo of the plane in front of a CBP parking spot is pictured above
DHS and PSM said that because the flight was grounded due to weather, the crew reached their maximum allowable duty time and entered ‘mandatory crew rest’.
DHS said airport crew made an ‘alternative terminal available to provide a safe, secure, and climate-controlled environment for detainees and staff’.
New Hampshire state representatives hit out at the decision to fly during the storm.
Democratic Representative Seth Miller told the Boston Globe that he believes it was ‘a bit misguided’ to land the flight during the blizzard, knowing Portsmouth was in the storm’s path.
He explained that the airport cannot pick and choose which flights to land, so the decision fell on Omni Air and DHS.
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte told the Globe that her office was aware of the situation and was monitoring it.
The Daily Mail reached out to the governor’s office for additional comment.
State Representative Alice Wade shared a video on Instagram outside the airport. She said an airport employee informed her the detainees were safe and warm, but ICE had ‘effectively locked the airport down’.
Flights across the country were canceled or delayed due to the winter storm. A New Hampshire resident is pictured above during nearly white-out conditions in Derry on Monday
No ICE NH, a state initiative rallying against the agency’s operations, shared the story on social media, calling DHS’s decision to ground the flight for hours ‘inhumane’.
A representative for the organization, Joe Jordan, told NHPR that the incident was an example of ICE’s ‘operational cruelty’.
‘To force a flight into a blizzard shows a complete disregard for the safety of the flight crew and airport ground staff,’ Jordan said.
‘This is not simply a logistical error, it is a feature of ICE’s inhumane mission.’
Flight-tracking data revealed that the plane took off from PSM at 8am on Tuesday and landed at Sofia Airport in Bulgaria just after 11pm EET.
The Daily Mail has reached out to DHS for more information about the flight’s path.
The historic winter storm left New Hampshire with up to 14 inches of snowfall and wind gusts of up to 50 mph. A blizzard warning was in effect in the state until 10 p.m. on Monday.
States in the Northeast and Tri-State area were also hit by heavy snowfall, with much of the East Coast under a blizzard warning from Sunday night into Monday morning.
