Ocean City High School’s track-and-field team found themselves trapped in Philadelphia airport.
Their Frontier Airlines flight was delayed many times before it was officially canceled. This spelled trouble as they could not arrive in the Disney Cross Country Classic on time for their competition, Geoff Haines, the school’s athletic director stated.
Haines and other coaches attempted to get a bus to transport the whole team of 79 people including athletes, their family members and coaches to the destination.
Meanwhile, the resourceful teen athletes have reached out to Ellen DeGeneres and Delta Airlines for help in several tweets with the hashtag #getocxctoDisney.
In one of the tweets, the students implored @Delta to help them as their flight was “cancelled,” and in another cheeky tweet, the students asked for a “private jet” to help them participate in the race in Disney.
The tweets were accompanied by pictures of the team in their uniforms looking glum, with frowns and thumbs down gestures. Some showed them sitting on the airport floor.
Though it was late at night, the team behind Delta’s Twitter account decided to deploy help. Per Haines, Delta actually used a private jet that was known to fly politicians and professional athletes. It was the first time the airline used it to transport the high-school athletes.
Frontier Airlines officials then collaborated with Delta to transfer the tickets so the team members did not have to pay extra for their flight.
Needless to say, Haines was surprised when he heard the students arrived on time with a “private plane.” He was also impressed by the teens’ smart use of social media in urgent times.
Our race @ESPNWWOS is tomorrow but our flight was cancelled!! We like to run but not that far! @Delta can you help #getocxctodisney ?? @NBCSPhilly @TheEllenShow @Disney @espn pic.twitter.com/vQKWH38xCm
— Ocean City Track & Field (@oceancity_XCTF) October 11, 2019
Anyone have a private jet for us?! We want to race tomorrow in Disney but our flight got cancelled!! We need to #getocxctodisney . Can you help us??@Disney @Delta @TheEllenShow @njmilesplit pic.twitter.com/leVsWL2FRD
— Ocean City Track & Field (@oceancity_XCTF) October 11, 2019
[via Insider, cover image via Matt Kane Photography / Shutterstock.com] http://www.designtaxi.com/news/406827/Delta-Flies-High-School-Track-Team-On-A-Private-Jet-After-They-Asked-For-Help/