Originally Posted by
WHBM
But the return crew already in JFK didn't necessarily need a couple of days rest if the flight, for example, had diverted to Philadelphia, 130 miles away by domestic flight which were all still running, or even by taxi. The outbound crew in New York could have positioned down, possibly with just 24 hours delay.
Furthermore, the flight was carrying a full deadhead tech/cabin crew (as ops were reminded by the pilots). Presumably them ending up back at base has caused a further major dislocation to a return flight at some stage.
I’m not defending the decision itself, it might have been a good one or bad one, I don’t know, I don’t have enough information. I’m just saying that declining to use a US alternate when they had other options available in no way implies their US alternates aren’t suitable.