Lately it seems like another day, another flight diversion. It’s midsummer, when flight schedules are more likely to go awry due to severe weather and high flight volume, and in addition to the regular expected delays, there’s a chance you could end up somewhere that isn’t on your itinerary.
That’s because diverted flights, which are relatively rare—about .3 percent of total U.S. airline operations are diverted—typically rise at this time of year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
A diversion is defined as a flight that took off from its scheduled departure point but is forced due to a variety of circumstances to land temporarily in an airport other than its intended destination.
For passengers who’ve found themselves landing in, say, Bangor, Maine, instead of Boston after a long transatlantic trip, a diversion is no minor inconvenience. That’s because the duration of these detours can vary widely.
Recent flight diversions
A few recent cases illustrate what can happen when a plane strays from its intended route.
On July 25, an American Airlines Boeing-787 flight from Rome to Philadelphia, with 293 passengers and crew aboard, diverted to Dublin due to a reported odor on board that was later determined to have been caused by a faulty oven. Paramedics met the aircraft at the gate, and flight attendants and one customer “were evaluated and subsequently released,” the airline said in a statement provided to Afar; fliers were given hotel accommodations and put on alternate flights to Philadelphia.
On July 20, thunderstorms forced a United Airlines flight from Houston to Phoenix to land at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, instead. The diversion airfield was within driving distance from the intended destination, so the airline arranged for the passengers to make the final leg of their journey by bus.
And on July 3, a Delta 767 aircraft bound for Atlanta from Nice, France, landed in Nashville instead due to bad weather. Crew timing issues came into play, according to a report from business travel newsletter JoeSentMe.com, and the plane stayed on the ground for nine hours while waiting for a replacement crew. The total elapsed time for the flight reached 21 hours versus the normal 10 hours, finally landing at 1:30 a.m. the following day.
In terms of the fallout for passengers, “It all depends on where the plane goes [for its diverted landing],” said Joe Brancatelli, JoeSentMe.com founder. “If it is diverted to a place the airline usually flies, not too bad; if it lands in a place the airline doesn’t normally serve, that’s another story,” he added. The longer the diversion lasts, the higher the chance the airline will have to swap in a new crew, he pointed out, which could lead to further delays.
Pittsburgh International Airport has been hailed as a refuge for rerouted aircraft.
Photo by Ema Peter
Some airports even promote their ability to handle diverted flights as a selling point. Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), for instance, handled 443 flight diversions in 2025, close to the record 463 it received in 2018, the airport reported, citing advantages such as its long runways that can handle any size jet, its international customs facility, and its round-the-clock operations.
For international flights, the best-known waypoints for diverted flights from abroad include Bangor in central Maine, Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada, and Shannon Airport in western Ireland, due to their location along the North Atlantic where transatlantic flights can more easily divert to.
Wherever they land, most passengers just want to get to their final destinations as soon as possible. But the reasons for the diversion can affect how long they’re stuck, said Drake Castañeda, a spokesperson for Delta. Weather—in particular, thunderstorms and very strong winds—is the most common cause, and the resolution depends on when ground stops are lifted.
Earlier this week, severe weather forced 22 aircraft bound for Denver to divert to Colorado Springs, where some passengers were treated for turbulence-related injuries after air traffic controllers warned pilots in the approaching flights that they would not be able to land at Denver.
“Air traffic control is a big part of the decision-making,” Castañeda said. A weather-related delay affects all planes in the vicinity, and “you can’t land at an airport like Atlanta if there is a ground stop [there]. The plane can circle the airport for only so long before it is getting low on fuel. That’s when they will start diverting to a nearby airport.”
Delta has a large operations command center in Atlanta where all teams involved in managing disruptions, from meteorologists to dispatchers, coordinate a response. One factor guiding decisions is whether the affected aircraft have enough fuel to stay airborne; commercial flights are expected to depart with enough extra fuel to handle these contingencies, Castañeda points out.
Other than Mother Nature, the other main causes of diversions, he said, are medical emergencies, mechanical issues, and disruptive passengers, all of which can lead to lengthy delays. And while there is no data on the average length of a diversion, it’s safe to say that they can often last longer than a typical flight delay, depending on the circumstances.
Take the experience of passengers on an American flight from New York to Chicago on March 29, where what initially seemed to be an air rage incident turned out to be something potentially more serious. Fliers aboard reported hearing a man shouting threats, followed by the pilot announcing that the plane was diverting to Detroit. When they landed, they were told to stay in their seats while FBI and local law enforcement boarded the aircraft, ordering all aboard to “keep your heads down and your hands up,” according to passengers on the plane who were quoted by news media.
All passengers and their belongings were ultimately removed, and they had to wait for a new flight and crew before they could get to Chicago, landing some nine hours after their original arrival time. American confirmed the details of the incident, which is the subject of an ongoing law enforcement investigation.
What rights travelers have when flights are diverted
Whatever the reason for a diversion, what are the airlines’ obligations to their customers? Basically, the same rules apply that would if your flight were delayed. Airlines are bound by their contract of carriage (the fine print on your ticket) to get you to your final destination as soon as possible and typically will provide meals and accommodations for those stranded overnight if the cause of the diversion is considered within the control of the carrier.
But if the situation is caused by factors outside the airline’s control (such as weather or a medical emergency), the airline may not be required to pay up. The U.S. Department of Transportation has a dashboard listing each airline’s reimbursement policies.
As the above-mentioned cases illustrate, every diversion is different, and the duration of these episodes can vary greatly depending on specific factors, such as the services available at the airport, whether the crew is about to max out their allowable time on the clock, and if there’s a mechanical issue that requires an alternative aircraft to be ferried in. And if the passengers are arriving from a foreign destination, they may need to wait for customs clearance.
In short, there’s nothing you can do to prepare for these situations other than the usual travel precautions, such as packing a carry-on with some overnight essentials. One extra tip: If you are diverted to an airport that is within driving distance of your original destination, then you may be permitted to get off the plane and travel onward by rental car or bus. For the most flexibility in these situations, it’s better to avoid checking a bag when possible.
