Couple sees racism in treatment during airline delays

A Durham couple's trip back from a destination vacation turned into trial, one they attribute in part to their race and ethnicity.

"It was truly the trip of a lifetime," she said.

She said, "Delta had informed the airport that we had just been fed so we would not be fed and that's when the gentleman, elderly gentleman, inquired about water, and we were directed to the bathroom if we wanted to drink water.

"There's no doubt in my mind that we were treated and disregarded the way we were both by the airport and Delta Airlines because we were perceived as second-class citizens," she said.

Her husband saw the same thing.

"I think the fact that the plane came from Ghana and the people that stepped off the plane happened to be black added to it," he said.

A Delta spokesman told WRAL News that is absolutely not the case.

He said Flight 157 was diverted for the mechanical issue and a different plane was sent from Lisbon.

The couple says they were again stranded when the plane landed at JFK, with no help with hotels, food or transportation.

Delta says there were severe weather delays on that weekend which constrained hotel space and re-booking times.

Delta says, “Refunds and an additional gesture of goodwill were provided to our customers for the experience."

The couple says they were initially offered $400 each. They returned to Raleigh on Sunday, but say an otherwise perfect trip was marred by the ending.