The full flight from Gainsville, Florida, was canceled, even though passengers could see their plane sitting on the tarmac
The Delta plane that the Florida Gators' chartered to get to Storrs, Connecticut, for a game had been grounded with mechanical problems
By Michael ZennieFifty passengers had their holiday travel plans disrupted on Sunday when Delta Airlines kicked 50 people off a full flight so it could use the plane for the Florida Gators basketball team.
Delta says it needed the plane to ferry the No. 15-ranked Gators to Storrs, Connecticut, for the team's match-up against the UConn Huskies.
Furious passengers in Gainsville, Florida, were told their flight to Atlanta Sunday afternoon had been canceled - even though they could see their plane sitting on the tarmac.
Delta canceled the flight from Gainsville to Atlanta on Sunday as travelers were trying to get home from the Thanksgiving holiday Delta canceled the flight from Gainsville to Atlanta on Sunday as travelers were trying to get home from the Thanksgiving holiday
The Gainsville Sun reports that one passenger missed a funeral. Another didn't get home in time to meet his moving truck. Another had to drive to Atlanta in order to get to her meeting on time.
Many others were returning home from the Thanksgiving holiday.
'It just felt like the wrong decision made by somebody who didn't think it through,' one furious passenger told the newspaper.
Delta admits that it canceled Flight 5059 because it needed the plane for the Gators basketball team.
The plane that the team had chartered with Delta experienced mechanical problems and could not fly.
The team needed to get to Storrs on Sunday night so that it could play the Huskies Monday night, an athletics department spokesman told the Sun.
The No. 15-ranked Florida Gators basketball team had to get to Storrs, Connecticut, for a game against the UConn Huskies The No. 15-ranked Florida Gators basketball team had to get to Storrs, Connecticut, for a game against the UConn Huskies
The Gators fell to No. 12-ranked UConn, 65-64.
The basketball team was not responsible for the cancellation of the flight - that was Delta's decision, University of Florida spokesman Denver Parler said.
A Delta spokesman said that all of the passengers who booked tickets on the canceled Flight 5059 were either put on later flights or given vouchers for a free flight.
'Delta apologizes to those customers on Delta Connection flight 5059, operated by ExpressJet, who were impacted by the resulting cancellation of their flight,' Delta said in a statement.
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