Bradley International evacuation causes delays and missed flights
By OLIVIA KALENTEK
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WINDSOR LOCKS, Connecticut (WFSB) — Bradley International Airport was evacuated earlier today, October 31. At approximately 5:15 this morning several fire alarms went off in the building. Passengers and staff left the building and the fire department responded quickly. Travelers say it was a chaotic scene. “We all went out and we were outside like half an hour. When they called us back in it was chaos here. Everyone was bundled up, there were no lines,” says one passenger, Joan McConnel. McConnell says she missed her flight because she couldn’t make it in time.
The Connecticut Airport Authority says several fire alarms were activated in the terminal, so people had to evacuate. They say the fire alarms were triggered by an isolated mechanical issue. Normal operations began soon after. However, the incident still caused delays and passengers to miss their flights.
“Everybody was mixed up and it was horrible. I feel like they didn’t do any organization when they brought people back,” another passenger says. She was traveling to Washington for a funeral and missed her flight because of the crowds. Jose Molina, another passenger, encountered a similar issue. “They told us we have a flight attendant, they didn’t show up, or is sick or something like that. They had a missing flight attendant, so they couldn’t fly cause they were missing a flight attendant,” says Molina.
A representative with United Airlines says the flight attendant that was scheduled for that drip, did not make it in time and another one needed to fly over. That flight was delayed three hours, and some passengers were told to rebook.
“It was a whole struggle because then everyone is obviously calling customer service as well, Molina says.
Airport authorities say the fire alarm incident only caused four delays. However, officials say that 11 cancellations were not connected to the alarm incident. They say that most of them impacted American Airline customers. American Airlines states, “To make sure we are taking care of our customers, and providing scheduling certainty for our crews, we have adjusted our operation for the last few days this month by proactively cancelling some flights.”
They also say they will be hiring hundreds of employees for the coming holiday season.
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