An El Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing on a Canadian air force base Sunday due to a technical fault in the plane’s cockpit, Times of Israel reported.
Flight LY008 was forced to land in the nearest airport, which was Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Hundreds of passengers had to remain on the plane for several hours while a replacement aircraft was sent from New York to take them on to Israel.
With temperatures outside reportedly at -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 degrees Celsius), passengers huddled under blankets to stay warm.
“We’ve been here about six and a half hours,” Chen Harel, one of the passengers told Hadashot news. “Every minute that passes is harder and harder for us, and we hope it will end quickly – there are adults and children here.”