Plane carrying migrants from Texas to New York diverted to Philadelphia due to weather
A spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney said the city was working to help the migrants reach "their final destination."
A plane carrying migrants from Texas heading to New York City was diverted Tuesday night because of weather to Philadelphia International Airport, officials said.
“At this time, we can confirm that an Eastern Airlines flight headed to JFK from Texas was diverted to Philadelphia due to weather,” Laila Sadat, a spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney, said in an email.
“We believe that some or all passengers are migrants and are working to assist them in reaching their final destination. More information will be released as it becomes available. We are unable to answer additional questions at this time,” Sadat said.
Heather Redfern, spokesperson for Philadelphia International Airport, also confirmed that an Eastern Airlines flight from Texas heading to New York instead landed in Philadelphia because of weather.
No further information was immediately available about the flight or the people on board.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent more than 80,000 migrants on buses to Democratic-led cities across the country since last year.
Starting in November 2022, around 1,000 migrants have been shipped from Texas to Philadelphia.
Texas sent a plane with more than 120 migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago last week, the Associated Press reported.
The flight to Chicago took off a day after Abbott signed a new law allowing police in Texas to arrest migrants who illegally cross the southern U.S. border.