A person flying home from Auckland, New Zealand, had a delayed flight due to bad weather in Vancouver. Upon boarding, they found out the plane was also waiting for a part to be located and replaced, causing further delay.
Upon landing, the airport was chaotic due to snow, and the plane couldn’t reach a gate, causing a six-hour wait on the runway. After finally getting off the plane, there was chaos and delay in getting their bags, and their connecting flight was canceled.
Since so many other people were stranded in Vancouver, they would have to wait a while for a decent flight and decided to explore snowy Vancouver. Curious about other travelers’ worst flight experiences, they asked other flyers to share them through a travel forum.
1. A Flight From Paraguay to Buenos Aires
Multiple flight delays and cancellations turned one person’s flying experience into a complete bust. The first flight delay caused them to miss their connection, and they had to book a hotel room in Houston before boarding the next flight to Buenos Aries. Then, however, a broken flight radar forced the plane to turn around over Brazil, causing a 3.5-hour delay.
They spent another night in a hotel before being rebooked on a later flight to Buenos Aries. Unfortunately, the flight to Ascunsion was also delayed by three hours, and upon arriving, they discovered that their reason for travel had been canceled.
They had to take another flight back to Buenos Aries and spend another night before flying home. The trip lasted about 90 hours and cost almost $8k, leaving them frustrated and disappointed. Yikes!
2. Getting Thrown up on During Deplaning
Flying can be a stressful experience at the best of times, but for one traveler, it turned into a complete nightmare. After a long flight, she was landing in Gatwick when she felt someone behind her shoving her into the crowd to deplane. However, her relief at finally reaching solid ground was short-lived.
The woman behind her was about to be sick, and before she knew it, she had thrown up all over the unfortunate traveler, filling the pockets of her cashmere cardigan.
To make matters worse, the traveler had to endure several hours on London trains in the wee hours of the morning, feeling embarrassed and miserable after her traumatic experience. Again, it shows that you never know what kind of surprises you’ll encounter while flying.
3. Surviving the Unforgettable: A Terrifying Air Cubano Flight From Nassau to Havana
Air travel is often touted as one of the safest forms of transportation. Still, the reality was quite different for one unfortunate passenger aboard an Air Cubano flight from Nassau to Havana. The turbulence was so severe that it left the flight attendant on her knees, weeping and praying for a safe landing.
Adding to the mayhem, white smoke spewed out of the vents, causing further confusion and distress for those on board. The language barrier only compounded the chaos, as all the writing on the plane was in Russian, rendering the controls and buttons indecipherable for the passenger.
Despite the heart-pumping fear and uncertainty, the plane eventually arrived at its destination, leaving a lasting impression on all who experienced the harrowing journey. This is a poignant reminder that even with advancements in aviation technology, unforeseen circumstances can turn air travel into a nightmare.
4. The Cheap, Horrible Itinerary
Have you ever booked a crazy itinerary to save a few hundred bucks? This traveler did, and let’s just say it didn’t go well. What started as a journey from Antalya to Yakima, Washington, with six layovers, quickly turned into a nightmare. It began with a gate agent insisting they check their backpack containing $2,500 worth of camera gear.
What was supposed to be one carry-on turned into three different checked bags. Then, a delay in Toronto was blamed on a catering cart, but it turned out to be a malfunctioning ATC tower. They encountered severe turbulence, and a passenger walking around the plane as it was bucking up and down almost hurt themselves.
Despite all this, the real kicker was when the traveler was handed off to Air Canada and told they were booked on a flight that didn’t exist, with their luggage nowhere to be found. Finally, after losing their backpack and all its contents, the traveler was eventually reimbursed for everything. They vow they will be flying direct from now on.
5. Flight Delays, Cancellations, and Engine Failures
This person’s travel experience was a nightmare. They had booked a flight from Miami, Florida, to Rome, Italy, with a connection in New York City through British Airways, but were on a partner plane with American Airlines. Unfortunately, the flight out of Miami was delayed for 3.5 hours due to thunderstorms, which burned a lot of fuel while sitting on the tarmac.
The flight was redirected to Stanford, Connecticut, due to a lack of fuel, and they had to wait another 2 hours for JFK airport to reopen. When the flight finally landed at JFK, they missed their connecting flight to Italy because of the delay and were told there were only available flights the following day.
Unfortunately, neither American nor British Airways offered compensation for the delay because weather delays aren’t covered. They were forced to spend $500 on a hotel or sleep on the floor of JFK airport. The nightmare didn’t end there.
On the flight back from Italy, they experienced even more trouble when their Iberia Air flight lost an engine and had to land in Madrid with four firetrucks waiting for them. The passengers had to disembark on the tarmac in an abandoned part of the airport. The airline cost this person two days of vacation plus hotel and transportation expenses.
This thread was inspired by this post and produced by Our Woven Journey.
Demi Michele is a seasoned traveler, turned freelance writer. Having explored most states and ventured internationally, her love for outdoor cafes, new cuisines, and cultural immersion shines through her wide range of articles. Based in Texas with her family and two Scottish Terriers, Demi turns her adventures into captivating travel narratives to share with readers.