HARTFORD, Conn. — Passengers on a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight say they were kept on a hot plane without food or water for more than four hours at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport.

Passengers said that Tuesday night's ordeal began when they were diverted to Bradley because of bad weather during a flight from London to Newark, N.J. They said they landed at about 8:20 p.m. and were kept on the plane until about 1 a.m. today.

At least three people fainted and were taken away in ambulances, passengers said. The aircraft was carrying 300 passengers and 14 crew.

A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman in London told the AP on today that Bradley Airport "isn't used to dealing with international flights" and had to call customs and immigration officials back to the airport Tuesday night to process the passengers. She said the airline was forced to keep people on the plane.