Originally Posted by
nolens volans
There would not have been room in the terminal at YFB for the pax load of a 777. Believe me, if I had to choose between standing around in that terminal with 300 other people for 6 hours and sitting in a plane on the tarmac for 6 hours, I would probably prefer to sit in the plane. There would also have been security/immigration issues since there isn't a customs barrier or any real "airside" area in the YFB building. It's basically just one big room and a tiny post-security holding pen for departing pax.
"Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern tweeted that the passengers will disembark in shifts to eat and take a tour of the city before another plane arrives to take them to Los Angeles."
Guess the security/immigration services were to busy taking the moral high ground after the Trump ban to care about a Swiss passengers.
Also, seems more like sitting on the tarmac for at least 10 hours.