United Airlines passengers upset after being put up at cold military base

GOOSE BAY, Newfoundland, June 14 (UPI) -- Dozens of travelers planning to check into hotels in London Friday evening ended up spending a frigid night at a cold military barracks in Canada instead.

And many aren't happy about it.

The passengers boarded United Airlines Flight 958 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport with an itinerary for London Heathrow. Not yet over the Atlantic, the aircraft encountered a "maintenance issue" and landed at Goose Bay in Newfoundland, Canada, the airline said.

There, they were held over for 20 hours. The flight crew was shuttled to a nearby hotel. The passengers headed to a military base.

United Airlines said there wasn't any hotel space for the passengers.

Passenger Bob Chappell told NBC News that he and his wife shared a single bed and "froze through the night because there wasn't any heat."

Other passengers were infuriated that the pilots and flight attendants were put up in suitable accommodations while they had to stick it out at the military base for more than 20 hours.

Worst of all, some said, was that airline personnel weren't anywhere to be found to answer questions, address concerns or explain the layover.

"Once we landed there was nobody at all from United Airlines to be seen anywhere," passenger Lisa Wan told NBC News. "No United representative ever reached out to anybody -- no phone calls, no human beings, nothing. Nobody had any idea what was going on."

The following day, the passengers diverted to Newark Liberty International Airport, where they boarded a plane to London.

United refunded the cost of the tickets and provided meals to all the passengers, and indicated that the flight crew needed the hotel rooms more than the passengers did.

"The crew must rest in order to continue the flight," United said to a disgruntled passenger via Twitter. "You can rest on board the aircraft knowing that they are in charge."