These Are Your Most Frustrating Flight Delay Stories

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While 8 Democratic senators mightiness person folded and made a woody pinch nan Republicans to extremity nan longest national authorities shutdown successful American history, location isn't an extremity successful show for nan FAA-mandated 10% simplification successful flights. The Federal Aviation Administration hasn't rescinded nan emergency bid intended to trim nan workload connected understaffed and unpaid aerial postulation controller facilities. According to Politico, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will only assistance nan regularisation erstwhile it's safe to do so.

We asked our readers connected Friday, nan commencement of nan formation cuts, for nan astir frustrating stories astir formation delays and cancellations up to that point. The remark conception was filled pinch anecdotes that elaborate nan struggles of trying to drawback a formation during crises, specified arsenic nan aftermath of September 11, 2001 and nan COVID-19 pandemic. There were besides tales of absurd scenarios that exemplify really ill-considered commercialized aviation tin still be. Without further ado, present are your maddening stories:

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Southwest, Christmas 2022. Due to terrible wintertime upwind their unit scheduling strategy was overwhelmed and crashed. Our formation was 1 of astir 17,000 Southwest flights cancelled that week. The earliest they could re-book america was 3 days later. That aforesaid time my mom came down pinch COVID which meant she had to isolate during these "bonus" days pinch her grandchildren. As bad arsenic it was, we didn't perfectly request to get location and were staying pinch family anyway. Lots of different families that week had it overmuch worse than we did!

Submitted by: Stephen.

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1984. Delayed retired of Newark 23 hours. We were put up successful a adjacent edifice overlooking a junkyard. No meal for us: we weren't allowed successful nan eating room without suit and tie. We sewage nan past of nan vending machines. But ultimately, nan Cyclades made up for it and good beyond.

Submitted by: Ed Glorius

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50 years ago. Air Mali flagged Aeroflot turboprop flying from Mopti, Mali to nan capital, Bamako. Grass runway pinch a terminal building astir nan size of a 7-11. The woody was, Air Mali would waste unfastened tickets for nan way pinch nary thought of spot counts aliases immoderate of that boring hose stuff. So what happened is you arrived astatine nan Airport earlier nan theoretical formation was group to hap and waited. The level would look successful nan entity and onshore connected nan portion and taxi to a constituent a mates 100 feet from wherever nan crowd of imaginable passengers were anxiously waiting. They ne'er unopen down nan engines. The rider doorway opened, stairs were placed and past you were off, running, waddling, arsenic accelerated arsenic your luggage allowed, because only nan winners of this title sewage a spot connected nan plane. It took maine 2 tries connected sequential days.

Submitted by: redseca2

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I person an epic 1 from backmost successful nan late-1990s. I utilized to picnic up successful PEI, Canada – 1 of nan champion places to recharge your batteries. Lived successful Charlotte and flew up location to Charlottetown, PEI. I knew Air Canada and they were group and I deliberation United were group to spell connected onslaught during my vacation. Once they went connected strike, and this is earlier nan Internet could hole everything pinch flights, I made a travel to nan smallest airdrome I've ever seen connected nan land and had to make plans.

In nan end, including standbys and last-second changes, it went for illustration this: Charlottetown, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Greensboro, Charlotte.

Two airlines connected strike, and a monolithic statement of storms during immoderate of those flights turned what was expected to beryllium a fewer hours of flying into complete 2 days. Highlights? In PHL, because of nan storms and strikes, USAirways was mounting group up successful hotels.They sent maine to nan Four Seasons! And I was location for, possibly 5 hours because I needed to get backmost location early for standby to thing successful NC. And successful Boston, each of our luggage was near connected nan tarmac during a downpour. Fun times. My sleepless nighttime successful Philly was spent drying apparel successful a beautiful edifice room.

And that was erstwhile nan SwissAir formation collapsed extracurricular of Halifax. Friends heard Halifax, knew I was heading location and thought I was connected that formation Late-1990s connection meant I had to get to a landlines and net machine to fto group cognize I was fine.

Submitted by: Xavier96

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I was coming location from Afghanistan connected emergency time off owed to a decease successful nan family. I was connected nan ramp connected a C-17 erstwhile nan formation sewage cancelled. We recovered retired it was because 1 of nan different passengers was blabbing connected Facebook astir unit movements.

Submitted by: half man half carnivore half pig

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It's February 2022. I americium heading backmost location from a full week astatine King of nan Hammers successful California. I capped disconnected my travel pinch a awesome aquatics successful nan Lake Perris State Recreation Area, and sewage my favourite spot rows aboard a CRJ-700, correct adjacent to nan engines.

Unfortunately, arsenic I was successful statement for information successful Palm Springs, I sewage a notification that, owed to cascading failures wrong American Airlines successful nan aftermath of a awesome wintertime storm, flights were getting canceled. I wasn't nan only 1 who sewage this notification, because I heard a bunch of heavy sighs successful nan line.

Our CRJ took disconnected and conscionable hardly made nan relationship to Phoenix aft an instrumentality delay. From there, American Airlines had a full meltdown. The wintertime large wind had agelong passed, but now American Airlines had pilots and formation attendants successful nan incorrect cities astatine nan incorrect times, and thus, fewer crews to alert planes anywhere. Thousands of group piled into Phoenix, incapable to really scope their last destinations. Some group said they had taken six flights successful a hopeless effort to get home, and each it sewage them was waiting successful a 6-hour statement to get a edifice and nutrient voucher.

So galore group were stranded that American Airlines really ran retired of those vouchers earlier we moreover entered nan line. People began crying, visibly. Some folks missed funerals and different important events. Many group were angry astatine AA staff, moreover though nan meltdown wasn't their fault.

I ended up sleeping successful a sleazy motel, which near maine pinch tons of furniture bug bites.

Submitted by: Mercedes Streeter

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August 2004, Las Vegas tarmac. Mechanical responsibility pinch nan plane, but they kept america successful our seats. For almost 5 hours. You study immoderate things astir airplane HVAC successful times for illustration those. Namely that they're not designed to run astatine crushed level. They trust connected having overmuch colder aerial astatine 35,000 feet and only being connected nan crushed for a small while earlier taking disconnected again. They only started passing retired h2o aft 2 hours erstwhile personification sewage belligerent. And they fto america disconnected nan level only erstwhile personification went down pinch power stroke. The last reproach was that, erstwhile nan level was yet ready, we learned that it's unit had deed it's regular limit and we'd person to hold for a caller 1 to show up.

Submitted by: Give Me Tacos aliases Give Me Death

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Thanksgiving, 2001. 9/11 happened 2 months previous. I decided to return a red-eye from Seattle backmost location figuring, I'll slumber connected nan plane, it won't beryllium crowded, it'll beryllium great. Flight is scheduled to time off astatine for illustration 1 am, getting location by astir 6-7am. Perfect.

Flight gets delayed. 1 hour. 2 hours. 3 hours. Finally connected nan level astatine 3:30. Getting location astatine much for illustration 10-11, each good. The formation is uneventful. As we transverse nan Mississippi, nan aviator starts informing america that there's dense crushed fog, we whitethorn not beryllium capable to land, but we're going to support going because it should clear up. It does not clear up. We circle nan airdrome a mates times past alert backmost to St. Louis.

When we onshore we are told we person for illustration 5 minutes to transportation to different formation crossed nan airport. I sprint crossed nan airdrome and make it. The formation takes disconnected and we onshore successful Indy an hr aliases truthful later, fog now cleared. My scheme to slumber connected nan formation failed.

It's now 1:00 and this is my first formation since 9/11 truthful arsenic I get disconnected nan level nary 1 is waiting for me. I make my measurement down to baggage declare but my luggage is still successful St Louis, I caput extracurricular to hold for my parents only to beryllium confronted by immoderate very superior service guys successful afloat conflict cogwheel who show maine cars are not allowed to hold anymore and I request to clear nan area. My parents find me, I autumn dormant and past proceed to slumber done Thanksgiving dinner, having been awake for good complete 24 hours.

Submitted by: Buckfiddious

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Someone's early answer: That clip my formation sewage cancelled because a bunch of group thought shutting down nan authorities was amended than letting Americans person entree to affordable healthcare.

Submitted by: engineerthefuture