Airline Delays Lead to a Missed Flight and the Passenger Is Forced to Pay the Hotel Bill

Michael sent in this complaint about a recent flight from Mexico that included significant delays and extra unexpected travel expenses.

On a flight from Cancun to Dulles connecting to Norfolk, VA (UA 7709).
The airplane arrived at our Cancun departure point about an hour late. the plane experienced a minor mechanical problem that lasted another 20 minutes of delay. We finally departed Cancun about 90 minutes late. About 80 passengers missed their connections in Dulles, me included.

The United customer relations people booked us all for a flight the next day. We, however, we were told to pay for own hotel rooms because the delay was due to ATC (air traffic control).

Well, I say it was due to a late arrival at Cancun and a mechanical at Cancun. Even the Captain said we were delayed for a mechanical. I was an airline pilot for 5 years and no way was ATC to blame for this delay. There were also about 20 of my co-worker pilots on board that will attest to these facts. United is trying to use a bogus ATC delay to avoid paying for their shortcomings. So, I am paying for my own meal and room.

AirSafe.com Responds
The sad fact is that it does not matter why the plane was delayed because for the most part airlines that fly in the US are not legally obligated to provide any compensation for a delayed passenger, even if that delay results in a missed connection or unexpected hotel charges. It is possible that an airline will offer some kind of compensation, but that is up to the airline, or more likely the top airline customer service representative you can find after you find out you will be delayed.

AirSafe.com goes into some detail about when you can get compensation from a US air carrier, typically for cases where you are bumped from an oversold flight.

TSA Violates Own Policy by Separating a Mother and Child

A recent article from the MyBottlesUp.com blog discusses an October 15, 2009 incident where the TSA violated its own policies and separated a mother and child during the screening process. The TSA's web site claims that they "will not ask you to do anything that will separate you from your child or children.", but in in the case of one woman at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport, that was clearly not the case.

According to the article, after metal in the child's metal pacifier clip set off the metal detectors, mother and child had to wait further screening by the TSA. During that process, one of the agents took the child away from the mother.

For the full story, please read the full article. If you ever have this kind of problem with the TSA, you should do three things:

1. Get through the situation as best as possible with your dignity and sanity intact. If you can, contact a supervisor to help you resolve the issue.

2. Take the time to document the event as well as possible, including the names of the TSA agents involved, a description of what screening area you were in (many airports have more than one), and the time and date it occurred.

3. File a formal complaint with the TSA. There is no clear complaint process for this kind of situation, but you could try filing a discrimination related complaint, or TSA's generic online complaint form. In any case, make sure you keep a copy of anything you submit.

Recommended Resources:
Child Safety in the Air
Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Children

Your Comments Wanted
Do you have any suggestions for parents, or for the TSA? How about sharing your opinion about the TSA's policies? Feel free to leave your comments.

UPDATE: 9 November 2009
Our thanks go out to Ksenia Coffman who pointed out that the TSA has discussed this same incident in their blog. If you go to the TSA blog for 16 October 2009, you will find an variety of information, including multiple video recordings of the event. We invite you to review both blog posts, and to come to your own conclusions as to what happened in Atlanta.

No matter how this matter is finally resolved, the points mentioned earlier in this article are still valid. If you experience what you think is unfair or unlawful treatment at the hands of the TSA, take the time to carefully document what happened and to take appropriate steps afterwards, from filing formal complaints, to taking legal actions, to publicizing your experience. As this event shows, anything that is in the vicinity of a TSA screening area may be recorded and may become public later.