Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight from Madrid to New York made an emergency landing in the Portuguese Island of Terceira in the Azores.
The airline said the John F. Kennedy International Airport-bound flight experienced an engine problem after midnight and made an emergency landing. The Airbus A330 was carrying 282 passengers and 13 crew members.
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The island is about one-third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America. Lajes Airport is the closest airport between Europe and New York.
“As safety comes before all else at Delta, the flight crew followed procedures to divert to Lajes, Azores (TER) after indication of a mechanical issue with an engine,” Delta said. “The flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels.”
It was not immediately clear what exactly the engine issue was.
The flight from Madrid to New York City typically takes 8 hours and 20 minutes. Passengers and crew, however, spent about 29 hours on Terceira. They stayed the night in a motel and were provided meals.
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They left the island on a new aircraft on Monday for their original destination.
In 2023, another Delta flight diverted to Terceira due to an engine issue. That flight originated in Accra, Ghana, and was also bound for New York.