PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) -- Traffic at the Portland International Jetport continues to increase, but Sunday brought an unusual arrival - an international passenger flight with an unusually large plane for Portland.
A United Airlines flight from Edinburgh, Scotland, was headed to Washington Dulles International Airport, but dealt with stronger headwinds crossing the Atlantic Ocean than anticipated, causing the plane to use more fuel than expected.
The Boeing 757-200 had to divert to Portland to get more fuel, landing at about 4:15 p.m.
While FedEx does use 757s in Portland, the Airbus A321 is typically the largest passenger aircraft to serve Portland. The 757-200 is nine feet longer than the A321, though both have similar seating capacity and the 757 has a slightly wider cabin.
The 757 is also about six feet taller than the A321. Because of the aircraft’s additional height, a scissor lift was needed for refueling. Crews added about 5,000 gallons of fuel to the plane while the passengers remained on board.
Because the plane was refueled while passengers were on board, the Portland Fire Department Red Units from the Jetport stood by.
Once refueling was complete, Flight 979 left the Jetport and continued on to Washington Dulles.
The plane was on the ground in Portland for just over an hour.
There has not been regularly scheduled international service to the Portland International Jetport since 2013, when Air Canada ended its service between Portland and Toronto.
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