Delta flight to Amsterdam diverted to JFK after ‘spoiled’ food served

A Delta Airlines flight bound for Amsterdam had to make an emergency landing at JFK International Airport early Wednesday morning after passengers were given spoiled food.

Delta Flight 126, an overnight flight with 277 passengers on board, took off from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport shortly before 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

An airline spokesperson confirmed in a statement that the plane “was diverted to New York’s JFK airport early Wednesday morning after part of the in-flight menu was discovered to be spoiled.” It landed safely around 4 a.m.

“Medical teams were on site to receive the aircraft and treat all affected passengers and crew,” the statement said, which did not provide any information on how many people ate the tainted food.

The New York Fire Department said paramedics treated 12 passengers after the plane landed.

“Delta teams will immediately work to gather information about how this incident occurred,” the statement concluded. “This is not the service Delta is known for, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and delays to their travels.”

Despite Delta’s guilty plea, some passengers were still disturbed by the incident.

“I need to know how you’re going to get me to Amsterdam today – I’m on the plane that’s having to make an emergency landing at JFK because you served passengers ‘contaminated’ food,” wrote one traveler in a post on X. “I don’t need hotel/meal vouchers, I need to get to Amsterdam today.”

The diverted flight was scheduled to depart JFK Airport at 3:00 p.m. and arrive in the Netherlands at 4:20 a.m. local time on Thursday, about 16 hours after the scheduled landing time.