A passenger says she was 'kidnapped' by American Airlines after her flight was diverted to Canada

• An American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to London, UK, diverted to a small airport in Canada.
• A passenger said in a TikTok post that the airport had no food and little seating.

A passenger on an American Airlines flight said she was "kidnapped" by the carrier after her flight was diverted to Canada and everyone was stranded for 12 hours.

After an initial three-hour delay, passengers on flight AA728 from Philadelphia to London Heathrow hoped that would be the end of their problems.

But after a passenger suffered a medical emergency during the flight early Friday, the captain diverted to Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada. The incident was first reported by View From the Wing.

TikToker Diane Kane, who said she was a passenger on the flight, said passengers were left without food and water for several hours in an airport that had limited seating and looked like "a high school auditorium."

She also questioned the nature of the passenger's medical emergency and claimed the individual "got up on her own two feet, smiled, and walked off the plane."

Kane also said that American Airlines did not notify passengers about the diversion.

"If you're in the air and a pilot makes a [U-turn], and goes to a totally different country, without telling you, and you wake up in another country … I think that's kidnapping if they don't tell you they're gonna do that," she said.

After spending several hours in Canada due to issues with the crew's working hours, the plane then returned to Philadelphia before finally departing for London the following morning.

In a response to a comment on her TikTok, Kane said she finally reached the UK capital 38 hours later than scheduled.

Gander International Airport took part in Operation Yellow Ribbon following the September 11 attacks, taking in 38 diverted aircraft after North American airspace was closed.

American was recently handed a record $4.1 million fine by the US Department of Transportation for violating tarmac delay limits.

American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider, made outside of normal working hours.