Amidst the chaos of a severe winter storm, a well-known airline is under fire for postponing a flight for over 15 hours, only to call it off after travelers spent an entire day waiting.
Hopeful passengers gathered at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport early on Monday morning, ready to board an American Airlines flight bound for Washington DC.
Initially set to depart at 5:55 am, the flight remained grounded, with passengers still at the terminal well past 7 pm.
“They delayed us 14 times,” shared John Hains, one of the passengers. “I received 14 emails,” he recounted to WBRZ.
Hains mentioned that the delays were so prolonged that the crew could no longer legally operate the aircraft.
“They informed us that the flight would likely be canceled because the crew had reached their operational limit of 14 to 15 hours,” Hains explained.
In DC, 639 flights were canceled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Monday.
Winter Storm Fern caused American Airlines to cancel more than 1,800 flights across the US yesterday, according to FlightAware.
American Airlines to canceled more than 1,400 flights on Monday due to Winter Storm Fern, per flight tracking website FlightAware
Travelers at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport were scheduled to board around 5.55am on Monday for a flight to Washington DC but remained at the airport past 7pm
Hains said the reason for the repeated delays and eventual cancellation were crosswinds caused by the massive storm.
‘First, the DC Airport was closed and didn’t open apparently until at least 9.30 this morning,’ he added.
After that, Hains said the delays started coming in mass to his email.
Federal rules allow flight attendants to work up to 14 hours in a day, which Hains said was also explained to travelers.
Passengers were eventually moved to a different flight for Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
However, that flight would subsequently take them to the nation’s capital, but that change of plans soon went awry.
‘And so they booked us onto Charlotte, which was supposed to leave at 5:30, and then got delayed to 7 and then 7:30,’ Hains said.
The rescheduled trip to Charlotte was then canceled. Hains said his flight was moved again to Tuesday night.
The snow storm forced the closure of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Sunday until snow could be cleared from its runways
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the DC area airport, told the Daily Mail today that ‘the airport is open for flight operations’
Another traveler described the unpleasant experience, which started when she got to the airport around 5am alongside dozens of other passengers.
‘I was scheduled to fly to DCA Reagan National in Washington DC,’ Angela Williams told the outlet. ‘We were supposed to board at 5:55 this morning.’
She spent the week in Baton Rouge, but was excited to return to DC. That became impossible.
The airline could have been more transparent and canceled the flight earlier, according to the passengers, who would have rather been at home given the frigid conditions.
‘I could have been at my parents’ house resting because it’s actually cold in this airport,’ Williams added. ‘It’s very cold.’
Baton Rouge was still under an extreme cold warning until noon Tuesday with temperatures in the teens and 20s, although it was expected to be warmer than Monday
There have been two delays and one cancellation at the local airport today, per FlightAware.
Passenger Angela Williams said she would have stayed at home with her parents instead of going to the airport in the frigid cold had she known the flight was going to get canceled
Fellow traveler John Hains said he was still at the Baton Rouge airport past 7pm on Monday. His flight was rescheduled to Charlotte but then canceled
At Reagan National, 98 delays and 157 cancellations have been reported.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the DC area airport, told the Daily Mail that ‘the airport is open for flight operations’ and redirected an inquiry about Monday’s delay to the airline.
Nationwide figures showed 12,710 delays and 2,003 cancellations today, marking a drop from the weekend’s travel chaos.
More than 11,500 flights were canceled on Sunday as icy and snowy conditions brought on by Winter Storm Fern wreaked havoc on airports.
That included Reagan National, where all flights were canceled due to the winter storm until snow could be cleared from runways.
However, the National Weather Service has warned of the possibility of another winter storm battering the eastern half of the US this upcoming weekend.
The Daily Mail has reached out to American Airlines and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport for comment.
