Delta flight forced to make emergency landing on remote island

A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing on a remote island off the coast of Portugal after suffering engine issues mid-flight. 

The Airbus A330, operating as Delta Flight 127, was headed from Madrid to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday when it made an emergency landing at Lajes Airport on Terceira Island.

The island is in the Azores, which is an autonomous region of Portugal consisting of nine volcanic islands. 

“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,” Delta 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.”

There were 282 passengers and 13 crew members on board, all of whom deplaned at the airport in Terceira.

Passengers and crew were given accommodations overnight in area hotels and were provided meals.

Passengers were placed on another plane the following day, which arrived in New York late Monday evening. 

The carrier’s maintenance technicians are in the midst of conducting work on the aircraft. 

Delta is also reaching out to affected customers directly to apologize for the experience and offer compensation.

The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of the aviation industry, which has experienced several close calls and crashes since the beginning of 2025.

By mid-February, there had already been four major incidents.

Still, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an interview with FOX Business that aviation is still the “safest mode of transportation in the country.” 

“You can’t travel anywhere safer than on an airplane,” Duffy said in an interview. “We’re working our hearts out to make sure everything is safe, more air traffic controllers and we have a better air traffic control system, new investments, and again it’s going to take us time to undo what wasn’t done over the last four years.”