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RAPID CITY, S.D. — Delta Air Lines recently created a special flight to help a group of Belgian tourists reach their South Dakota vacation after experiencing travel delays.

The tourists boarded a flight from Amsterdam on May 31 as part of a reward trip for coffee roasters using creamer by Dutch dairy co-operative FrieslandCampina. But inclement weather delayed the initial flight’s takeoff to Minneapolis, where travellers met further delays because of short staffing at the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol checkpoint.

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The delays forced the tourists to miss their flight to Rapid City, South Dakota, said Patrick Spiessens, a co-operative representative. Delta spokeswoman Adrian Gee said the two options were accommodating the passengers in hotels that night, followed by an eight-hour bus ride to Rapid City, or something quicker.

The Rapid City Journal reports the special flight idea developed when a tour organizer muddling in the baggage area explained what had happened to a Delta employee, who made a few phone calls. Airline officials soon identified a 160-passenger jumbo jet and crew available to take the roughly 20 tourists to their Black Hills destination.