
A Delta flight was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote, volcanic island off the coast of Portugal after it reported experiencing engine troubles.
The Airbus A330 was on route to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport from Madrid on Sunday when it had to make an emergency landing at Lajes Airport on Terceira Island.
The island is in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal that contains nine volcanic islands.
There were 282 passengers and 13 crew members on board, all of whom safely disembarked at the airport in Terceira.
‘As safety comes before all else at Delta, the flight crew followed procedures to divert to Lajes, Azores (TER) after indication of a mechanical issue with an engine,’ said in a statement to FOX Business.
‘The flight landed safely, and we sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and delay in their travels.’
Passengers were given hotel accommodations for the night and were flown back on another plane to New York the next day. That plane arrived late Monday evening.

A Delta flight was forced to make an emergency landing on a remote, volcanic island off the coast of Portugal after it reported experiencing engine troubles (Pictured: A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 plane taking off in the air)

The Airbus A330 landed at Lajes Airport (pictured) on Terceira Island, which is part of the Azores, a series of nine volcanic islands

The coastline of Terceira Island, which is roughly 930 miles west of mainland Portugal
Maintenance technicians are in the process of working on the aircraft, while Delta continues to reach out to affected passengers to apologize for what occurred and offer compensation.
This incident is just the latest in a series of plane mishaps that have occurred since the start of 2025.
The heightened scrutiny on the aviation industry began after an American Airlines passenger aircraft collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29.
Sixty-four people – 60 passengers and four crew – were onboard the plane and all died. All three crew members on the helicopter also died.
The last serious incident with a Delta-operated plane came on February 17, when one of their CRJ-900 jets flipped upside down when touching down at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
The crash landing came during 40mph winds and immediately after a snowstorm.
Panic-stricken passengers were forced to escape the smoking aircraft. Eighteen people were left with minor injuries.
A poll taken after the Toronto plane flip showed that 65 percent of Americans are more nervous about flying after seeing more safety problems.
Over the past few months, federal officials have been keen to reassure Americans that flying remains safe.
In fact, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said that ‘you can’t travel anywhere safer than on an airplane.’