Four planes filled with around 700 passengers ran out of water and working toilets after being abandoned on the tarmac at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport for more than seven hours.

The three JetBlue and one American Airlines jets were just some of the many planes that were diverted away from New York City's three airports on Saturday, thanks to snow and other technical delays.

One passenger, a reporter for the the South Florida Sun Sentinel, told the AP that his crew ran out of snacks and water and that for the last several hours of the delay, the plane's toilets were backed up.

Passengers also say that they were given numerous reasons for the delays and by the time they got off the planes many were forced to spend the night in the airport, unable to book hotels.

Airlines are supposed to be fined for tarmac delays of more than three hours, but the Department of Transportation doesn't always enforce the rule to its fullest extent.

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Dashiell Bennett