Hundreds of fuming United Airlines passengers 'abandoned' in remote barracks in Canada for 20 HOURS after 'faulty' Chicago-London flight made emergency landing (while their crew spend the night in a 'comfy hotel')

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EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of fuming United Airlines passengers 'abandoned' in remote Canada barracks for 20 HOURS after 'faulty' Chicago-London flight diverts while crew spend night in 'comfy hotel'
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Hundreds of people were traveling from Chicago to London on Flight 958
Plane made emergency landing Friday night due to a 'maintenance' issue
Passengers spent night at Goose Bay barracks in remote part of Canada
Given 'only two blankets to sleep under and no heating in cold weather'
On Saturday, 'they were not given any food from midday to around 7pm'
But plane's crew 'spent night in hotel' and 'refused to answer questions'
Passengers say they had no contact from United Airlines for 20 hours
On Saturday night, furious fliers were put on another aircraft to Newark
Will then be flown to London and refunded, United told Daily Mail Online

By Sophie Jane Evans and James Gordon For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:44 EST, 13 June 2015 | Updated: 07:29 EST, 14 June 2015

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Hundreds of men, women and children have been abandoned at remote barracks in Canada for 20 hours after their United Airlines flight from Chicago to London had to make an emergency landing.

The passengers were apparently forced to sleep in uncomfortable beds with only two blankets and no heating at Goose Bay barracks on Friday night after landing due to a 'fault' with the aircraft.

They have reportedly been given only two meals, have had 'no word at all' from United Airlines - and two elderly passengers were even 'dumped' at the wrong part of the barracks and left overnight.

But while the passengers remain hungry, cold and confused, the crew spent the night at a hotel in Newfoundland and Labrador, passenger Simon Millward told DailyMail.com from the barracks.

Scroll down for video

'Comfy stay': United Flight 958 passengers were reportedly forced to sleep at Goose Bay barracks in a remote corner of Canada on Friday night, while their crew spent the night at a nearby hotel. Above, the crew are pictured returning to a new, replacement plane on Saturday evening 'looking fresh from their comfy night'

Angry: Passenger Sallie Coventry tweeted the above photo of the crew returning from their stay at the hotel in Newfoundland, writing: '@united crew arrived, looking fresh from their comfy night in a hotel #outrageous'

'They must rest': Bill Turner tweeted United: 'knock knock! Who's there? Not the crew because THEY'RE IN A HOTEL while their customers are stranded in a barracks in #GooseBay.' United replied with a defensive tweet

Emergency landing: Flight 958 set off from Chicago O'Hare International Airport just before 5.30pm (a delay on its 3.50pm departure time) on Friday. Three hours in, it made an emergency landing at Goose Bay (above)

'We have been completely abandoned by United staff,' Mr Millward said on Saturday evening. 'We were put in barracks with no heating, in the freezing north, and given two thin sheets to sleep with.

'We all slept in our clothes. Not a single person from United has seen us or been in touch.

'There were two old people who had difficulty walking who were dumped at a different part of the barracks, with no-one to contact them. There were a lot of children and babies on the flight.

'We've literally been dumped in the middle of nowhere. But all the crew stayed at a hotel in town. None of them have come to see us. We have been completely abandoned and are all confused.'

On Twitter, a stranded passenger tweeted United: 'knock knock! Who's there? Not the crew because THEY'RE IN A HOTEL while their customers are stranded in a barracks in #GooseBay.'

A United Airlines spokesman has since replied to disgruntled Bill Turner, saying: 'The crew must rest in order to continue the flight. You can rest on board the aircraft knowing that they are in charge.'

Bad night's sleep: Passengers were apparently forced to sleep in uncomfortable beds with only two blankets and no heating at Goose Bay barracks on Friday night after landing due to a 'fault' with the aircraft. Above, passenger Eric Keogan tweeted the above image of the army base along with the hashtag #unitedsuck

Shocked: Sallie Coventry's husband, Jonathan Coventry, said United had shown 'terrible customer service'

'No contact': One passenger spoke of her frustration at the lack of contact by United following the landing

'Stuck': Passenger Kristen Powell also joined in fliers' efforts to get their voices heard by the silent airline

Flight 958 set off from Chicago O'Hare International Airport shortly before 5.30pm (a delay on its 3.50pm departure time) on Friday. It was due to arrive at Heathrow Airport at 5.45am on Saturday.

But three hours into the flight, the Boeing 767 - which is almost 22 years old - was forced to make an emergency landing due to what the airline has told DailyMail.com was a 'maintenance issue'.

The aircraft touched down at Goose Bay at 23.33pm local time. Passengers were then taken to the barracks by bus, where they were given only two blankets each in near-freezing temperatures.

Mr Millward said the flight crew told passengers the plane's rudder had 'stopped working', but then refused to answer any more questions. 'They would reply to our questions with questions,' he said.

Take a look at the facilities and operation of Goose Bay barracks

Cold: Bill Turner also tweeted this image of Goose Bay barracks, which is believed to show the base earlier in the year. Temperatures were near freezing on Friday night, with fliers 'given just two blankets to sleep under'

'Disgusted': Ellie Barnett expressed her disgust that her friend was 'dumped' at the barracks 'with no contact'

An unfavorable comparison: Bill Turner remarked to another Twitter user about the pilot: 'He must have been relaxed after staying in a hotel while 300 customers were stranded in an army barracks in #GooseBay'

Concern: Jerry Canaday questioned why United was not providing any information about her friend's flight

At 7pm local time, he said that the '300 or so' plane passengers - mostly made up of Americans and Brits - had not been given food since midday. And many have missed out on important plans.

One woman was supposed to be attending her brother's wedding in Malta, while two Americans who were traveling abroad for their first ever time have been traumatized by their experience, he said.

We have been completely abandoned by United staff We were put in barracks with no heating, in the freezing north, and given two thin sheets to sleep with

Passenger Simon Millward

Mr Millward himself was supposed to be in Milan, Italy, on Sunday for work.

The British citizen said that the 'hungry' passengers have grouped together and supported each other at the Air Force barracks.

They have now been put on a replacement plane that was delayed in arriving at the air base due to mechanical problems.

They remained grounded at 7pm, but were due to be flown to Newark on Saturday night.

They will then be flown to London and given refunds, United told DailyMail.com.

It is thought that the passengers' luggage has remained on the aircraft through their 'nightmare'.

Mr Millward said that while United has not made contact with any of the stranded passengers, staff at the Air Force base have been 'wonderful'. 'They gave us breakfast at around 8am - defrosted bacon and cereal - and then a warm lunch at 12pm,' he said. 'They have been wonderful to us.'

Throughout Saturday, many passengers, and friends and spouses of fliers, were angrily tweeting United for answers about Flight 958, claiming that they had been told nothing about their situation.

Remote base: Mr Millward said the flight crew told them that the plane's rudder had 'stopped working', but then refused to answer any more questions. Above, Goose Bay barracks, situated in remote Newfoundland

Diverted: Three hours into the flight, the Boeing 767 (file picture) - which is almost 22 years old - was forced to make an emergency landing due to what the airline has told DailyMail.com was a 'maintenance issue'

One man wrote: 'My wife is stuck in an army barracks in goose bay (UA958). What is going on. No one knows! Terrible customer service.' Meanwhile, a woman tweeted: 'I understand UA958 6/12 plane is faulty. What I don't understand is why u can't bring another plane in to get ppl home.'

The airport at Goose Bay, situated at 6 Vulcan Road, regularly sees flights diverted there because it is one of the last airports on the North American mainland before aircraft start crossing to Europe.

A United Airlines spokesman told DailyMail.com on Saturday evening: 'The flight landed safely after diverting to Goose Bay, Canada, last night due to a maintenance issue.

'Customers were accommodated overnight and provided meals. We are flying the customers to Newark where they will be accommodated tonight on another aircraft to London. We apologize to our customers for this disruption to their travel plans and will be refunding their tickets to London.'