Emergency landing strands Sydney-bound passengers on Pacific island – never to see midnight on New Year’s Eve

Airline passengers stranded on a remote Pacific island after an emergency landing on the way to Sydney have made the most of their unexpected, idyllic New Year’s Eve adventure – but there’s a catch.

The locals in Pago Pago, American Samoa, where the flight from Los Angeles was forced to land after fears over a potential mechanical problem in one of the plane’s engines, took passengers on a tour of the island and served beers on a deserted beach.

But thanks to a quirk of time zones, the rescue flight sent to take them on to Sydney was due to skip across the international dateline shortly after takeoff, flying from New Year’s Eve morning to New Year’s Day morning with no midnight to celebrate in between.

The time warp began when the aircraft they were originally travelling on from Los Angeles to Sydney was diverted to Pago Pago international airport. Crew aboard United Airlines flight 839 had noticed a potential oil leak in an engine of the Boeing 787-9.

Leonie Butta’s 30-year-old son and two granddaughters were on the flight, travelling to Sydney en route from Vancouver, when she learned it was suddenly diverted over the Pacific.

The 60-year-old grandmother had been monitoring flight-tracking accounts on social media when she noticed the course change but could not get any information from United Airlines when she attempted to call.

“What United did was the perfect solution to the problem. There’s nowhere else to stop over that part of the Pacific. It was really good, terrific decision-making – so why didn’t they just tell everyone?” Butta said.

“They seemed to be oblivious to it. That made me feel worse. And I thought: ‘My god. Is this is a dream?’ Maybe this didn’t happen? Maybe the plane’s just gone?”

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United Airlines confirmed in a statement that a “mechanical issue” had forced the diversion but said the passengers were being taken care of and another flight would collect the stranded passengers.

The replacement aircraft – flying as UA3032 – was scheduled to depart Pago Pago at 3am on 31 December, local time, and arrive in Sydney at 7.15am on 1 January.

American Samoa is just to the east of the international dateline, meaning the passengers on board would not have a midnight on 31 December. Shortly after taking off they would find themselves in 2023 at a little after 4am Sunday.

The runways at Pago Pago are 3,000 metres (about 10,000 feet) long, just enough to allow for the 2,740 metres (9,000 feet) needed to allow the aircraft to take off and land.

Some passengers complained about the time it took United Airlines to send a replacement flight, as they missed out on spending New Year’s Eve in Sydney. One said it was the first day of her honeymoon.

But others reported enjoying their time on the island. The father of one passenger said his daughter had “showered at [the] hangar, got tour of [the] island and [was] drinking beers on deserted beach … [United] has provided cots, McD’s is close by and pilots bought the kids shots”.

Butta said the decision to land in American Samoa meant the passengers did not need to clear customs when they landed.

She said her son’s experience had been pleasant. He told her via text message that everyone was safe and well and that the locals had provided the best hospitality possible.

“I had no idea this place existed before today,” he said. “The locals found out at 3am a 787 full of passengers bound for Sydney were arriving in a few hours. They rallied together to ensure everyone was taken care of.”

Butta said she and her daughter had previously visited the region.

“Samoan people are just brilliant. Apart from being one of the most beautiful countries in the world, they’ll just say, come right into our home,” she said.

“They’ve brought them food, found them somewhere to stay with a pool, and my son was saying they even brought them beer.

“He’s laughing and saying look at this beer they brought me and the girls are swimming in the pool. And they’re writing a travel journal for when they go to school. For them, it’s been an adventure – a nice end. It’s now part of the story of their holiday.”