Frustrated traveler has “nowhere to go” after American Airlines cancels her flight out of MIA

MIAMI – CBS4 visited Miami International Airport on Wednesday to see how passengers deal with flight cancellations.

Looking on the flight information board displaying late afternoon and night flights, we observed greater than 20 cancellations between arrivals and departures amongst numerous airways.

It left many passengers we spoke with annoyed and stranded.

“My app just said a canceled status, and that’s how I knew the flight was canceled,” shared American Airlines passenger Stacy Sammy.

She’s upset, attempting to journey dwelling to Spain, ready in lengthy traces on the airport to rebook.

“Nobody is saying anything,” Sammy stated. “We’ve been standing in this line for over an hour.”

International vacationers have totally different protections for flight cancelations.

The Montreal Convention, a common treaty, permits passengers to declare compensation for the damages brought on by journey disruption.

According to lawyer David Weinstein, passengers have much less assured compensation for bills incurred on home flight cancellations or delays.

“If you’re flying on a low fare, low-cost airline, don’t expect to be compensated the same way you might be for one of the major airlines that has a better compensation policy,” stated Weinstein.

Weinstein provides to examine your airline’s web site for extra specifics.

Under federal legislation, airlines must provide a full refund to prospects if a flight is considerably delayed or canceled, and the passenger chooses not to journey. 

If you proceed to journey, the airline should do their greatest to rebook you on the subsequent out there flight. 

With quite a few cancellations at MIA, discovering the subsequent flight out might be troublesome.

“We had 40 canceled flights yesterday due to staffing shortages,” stated Greg Chin, communications director for Miami-Dade Aviation. “We expect potentially more this weekend.”

And this leaves many passengers annoyed. One lady checked her baggage with drugs inside it, solely to be taught that American canceled her flight minutes later.

“We don’t know if we will be able to get a flight by tonight or in the morning,” shared Nalini Lancaster. “We checked out of our hotel and have nowhere to go.”

And that is why it is important to ask your journey agent to see if the airline will assist for those who’re stranded for the evening.