A group of beleaguered, patient United Airlines passengers reportedly waited almost 12 hours on their plane for their flight to take off, only for it to be canceled.
Videos by Wide Open Country
United Airlines Flight 884 was set to fly from Washington, DC, to Rome on Oct. 2 in an overnight flight, according to The New York Post. However, passengers waiting at Washington Dulles International Airport (to eventually land in Rome's Fiumicino Airport) were told that a deep bench of issues was keeping them waiting. This list of excuses included cockpit malfunction, severe thunderstorms, and crew shuffles, per The Aviation Hub.
Meanwhile, United Airlines issued a statement about the delayed and then canceled flight.
"United flight 884 from Washington Dulles to Rome returned to the gate after taxiing to take on additional fuel for a longer planned flight due to weather," the airline explained to Fox News. "During this time, a new crew was brought in, and a maintenance issue that arose was resolved. The aircraft then pushed back from the gate, but then required another mechanical inspection."
The airline then offered up an excuse for why the flight was ultimately canceled after nearly 12 hours.
"The flight was then canceled due to crew time limits. We rebooked customers on an extra flight that departed on Saturday evening," United Airlines added.
The United Airlines Passengers Got Their Hopes Up Twice Before the Flight Was Ultimately Canceled
So, passengers were forced to disembark because the crew hit their legal duty-time limit after a 6-hour delay, per The Post. Reportedly, another crew showed up, meaning the hopeful passengers got back on the plane. However, mechanical issues discovered led to the flight being ditched altogether, leaving the passengers with a nearly 12-hour memory of the inside of an aircraft that never took off.
As you might expect, the rebooked flight wasn't exactly timely, either.
According to The Post, the rescheduled flight took off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, with the outlet pointing out that the passengers were finally headed to Rome over a day later than originally planned.
Some of the understandably annoyed flyers vented to local DC outlet 7News.
Rebecca Bliden and her mother were flying to Rome to celebrate her sister's milestone 50th birthday. She painted a picture of a miserable and ultimately fruitless experience.
"I've never heard of sitting on a plane for almost 12 hours. I mean, there were kids that were crying; it was hot," Bliden told the outlet. "It was all really absurd."
She also told the outlet passengers should get a full refund.
