SAS Flight Turns Back Mid-Atlantic, Leaving Passengers Stranded at Newark After Midnight

Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the airport when the flight from New York to Copenhagen had to take a U-turn to New York due to some technical issues in the aircraft. Passengers couldn't reach Denmark and had to wait at the Newark Liberty International Airport, leaving them helpless with no luggage and no hotel accommodation arrangement, waiting for the next flight update late at night.

According to the reports, the flight SK916 departed from JFK International Airport at 7:24 p.m. on Friday, 23rd October, 2026. The flight was running a bit late as well since the departure time was 6:55 p.m.

A Technical Issue Forces the Flight to Turn Back

Michael Flarup, a passenger traveling with his son in SAS, mentioned on X that after noticing the flight status in the aircraft, it showed that the flight was running in the wrong direction for two hours after the departure. 

The cabin crew informed the passengers about the situation and also mentioned that it is getting difficult for the pilots, who did not feel comfortable flying the flight across the Atlantic. So the crew decided to return the aircraft to Newan Airport.

For the passengers' safety, and in case of any emergency, fire trucks and ambulances were waiting on the runway. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported, which left everyone confused as to why the emergency vehicle was present in that situation.

Where SAS confirmed the reason behind the return of the flight to Danish broadcaster TV2 was some technical issues; however, no solid reason or evidence was released.

Passengers Struggle to Retrieve Their Luggage

But this is not the end of the story, landing did not solve the passenger’s problems. They had to wait at the airport for an hour for their luggage, since the airport authorities mentioned that the luggage could not be removed from the aircraft.

Passengers also used the QR codes to make a complaint about the missing bags, but it did not work since they had to reach their original location for it to work completely.

Pasengers were asked to wait for an hour for the updates regarding the flight replacement, but instead they waited for several hours without any clear instructions. Michael Flarup also mentioned on X that the booking section completely disappeared from the SAS app, leaving him confused and helpless about what to do next.

SAS Asks Passengers to Book Their Own Hotels

To make it more difficult for the passengers, SAS emailed them to book their own accommodation, offering them a reimbursement of up to $280 per room.

Michael mentioned that luckily, he could find the last room for him and his son around the airport. However, many passengers still remained at the airport without any help from SAS. 

Aircraft Inspected After Diversion

The airlines have still not disclosed the exact cause of the incident. It is still unclear why the crew members decided to land the flight at Newark and not at JFK. However, everything was done for the passenger’s safety, except for the delayed updates, not receiving the luggage on time, and accommodation issues were additional charges for the disruptions.