Air France: déroutement du vol AF50, les passagers attendent plus de 6 heures au sol

No diverted flight took longer than Air France's Flight 50, however. The plane arrived at Mitchell International Airport at 4:15 p.m., one of 13 flights rerouted to Milwaukee because of the storm. But while other planes refueled and resumed their trips to Chicago, it sat on the tarmac for seven hours, three of them without any power, leaving 286 passengers in sweltering darkness."The flight had a series of unfortunate events, " said Pat Rowe, a spokeswoman for Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.The problems with the stranded flight began about an hour after it landed. The crew shut off power to fix the jet's air conditioning but then couldn't restart the power, Kadletz said. The lights went out, and the plane quickly got shirt-soaking hot. The crew opened the doors about six inches to try to get ventilation, but mostly moist, muggy air crept in.As time crawled on, passengers grew increasingly agitated, with some demanding more information, which was in short supply, said Kadletz, a program manager for an automotive company.By 8:30 p.m., the power and air conditioning were restored, but the plane never cooled off, said Kadletz, who lives in Slinger, Wis. By then the crew had hit their maximum number of duty hours allowed under federal aviation rules. And while there was no chance the flight could reach Chicago, it would still be many hours before passengers would be allowed off the plane.Air France called Customs officials to ask if passengers could enter the country. But most Customs workers had gone home, and it took federal officials about an hour to assemble a team to process passengers.The delay dragged on as airport workers searched for a baggage lift capable of unloading the Airbus A340, an aircraft not used by other airlines that fly into Milwaukee, Sturgeon said.Customs didn't finish clearing passengers until about 1 a.m., Sturgeon said.Air France said it provided shuttles to Chicago and hotel rooms. The interminably delayed plane was scheduled to leave Milwaukee for Chicago at 11 p.m. Friday.