A technical problem halfway over the Atlantic turned an ordinary overnight hop to Copenhagen into a miserable night in New Jersey for hundreds of travellers — and the story after landing is the part worth paying attention to.

Flight SK916, an SAS Airbus A330-300 with room for up to 262 passengers, left New York JFK just before 7:30 PM on a Friday evening for the overnight run to Copenhagen. Around two hours in, passengers noticed on the in-flight map that the plane was heading the wrong way. The captain then announced a technical issue: he and the crew didn't consider it safe to continue the crossing. The aircraft touched down at Newark Liberty just before 11 PM after three hours and 34 minutes airborne, met on the runway by fire trucks and ambulances as a precaution.

That was where the good news ended. Passengers waited about an hour at baggage claim before being told their suitcases couldn't be taken off the plane. A QR code for reporting missing bags refused to work, since the system only accepted claims from people who had reached their final destination. Promised new flight details within a couple of hours, travellers instead watched their bookings vanish from the SAS app. Past midnight, the airline emailed everyone asking them to book their own hotels, with reimbursement offered up to $280 per room. Passenger Michael Flarup, flying home to Copenhagen with his son, snagged one of the last rooms nearby — and says many others were still stuck at the airport when he left. Nobody at SAS support could tell him where the family's two bags were.

SAS confirmed the return was due to a possible technical fault, said the aircraft was being inspected in Newark, and didn't explain why the plane diverted there rather than back to JFK. The jet itself flew on to Copenhagen the next day.

Here's the part every flyer should know: because this was a European carrier bound for the EU, EU261 passenger rights applied in full. That means SAS was obliged to provide hotel rooms and transport to them regardless of the cause of the disruption, plus meals during the wait — not simply a reimbursement form and an email. Passengers may also be entitled to €600 (about $672) in compensation, since the rerouting added several hours to arrival on a flight over 3,500 km.

The practical takeaway: if a diversion strands you, keep receipts, note the timeline, and remember that an EU or UK airline flying to Europe owes you care first, paperwork later. Reimbursement caps don't override your statutory rights.

Story via Simple Flying.