DEER LAKE, N.L. — Maj. Jeff Howard said it was quite the Christmas adventure as members of the Salvation Army and the Deer Lake community in general came together to quickly feed around 75 stranded passengers from a flight on Christmas Day.
The plane full of WestJet passengers left Toronto for St. John's late Christmas Eve when bad weather came up and they ended up being diverted to Deer Lake.
The passengers were sent to the Holiday Inn Express, where they got breakfast at about 5 a.m. Christmas morning.
Howard, who is with the Deer Lake Salvation Army, said a message came in on their Facebook page just after 3 p.m. from a friend of one of the passengers, who had said there were hungry people at the hotel, which has hardly any food options. There were no food establishments open in town Christmas Day.
“We immediately rallied the troops, so to speak,” he said of getting members of their church and the community to help.
"Your generosity filled our bellies and our hearts." - stranded passenger Mandy Bee
Within an hour, there was already food on the tables at the hotel, with a large variety of items, from sandwiches, cookies and crackers to extras from turkey dinners people had that day.
There were passengers on that flight from all over and Howard met some from the United Kingdom and the United States right to Vancouver and from many other provinces across Canada.
The help didn’t stop with feeding the passengers as the community also provided rides to the airport for the passengers, with the last of them boarding a flight around 9 p.m. and landing at their destination in St. John’s sometime after 10 o'clock that night.
There were about 30 people who brought food and cars to help.
Howard said there was so much food brought to the hotel that they had more than they needed, with the remaining brought to a senior’s facility in the town after, which he said was another bonus.
“We were just happy to be able to help out,” he said of the whole adventure. “It’s what we do at the Salvation Army.”
In a Facebook post at 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 25, Mandy Bee, one of the passengers, showed her gratitude for the generosity shown to them.
“To The citizens of Deer Lake: on behalf of my family and, I’m sure, the rest of the passengers and crew of WestJet 328, thank you for coming together today, on Christmas Day to put together a supper for us starving and misplaced souls who were homeward bound for Christmas," Bee wrote. "Your generosity filled our bellies and our hearts. Please God we get home safe tonight.”
In another Facebook Post on Boxing Day by a relative of several of the stranded passengers, Kate Sexton, also gave thanks.
“Have to send a Christmas shout-out to the amazing Salvation Army and community angels in Deer Lake!" wrote Sexton. "My aunt and uncle have been travelling for 48+ hours in an attempt to make it 'home' for Christmas. Unfortunately, a failed attempt to land at 3 a.m. this morning forced the plane to take a safer landing in Deer Lake. All the passengers were placed in hotels, with people from the community helping to drive passengers to and from the airport. With nothing open and limited food options available, word got out and the community of Deer Lake made it happen! Unable to help from St. John’s, I, as well as my entire family are beyond thankful for the beautiful souls who helped make a Christmas away from home just that much better!”
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