A Brooklyn family missed out on their 8-day dream vacation due to a delayed flight out of John F. Kennedy International Airport. Tisha LaSaine had saved up for a year to take her mother, twins, and oldest son on a weeklong cruise out of Orlando on June 30. The trip was meant to celebrate LaSaine’s 50th birthday and provide one last summer adventure for her son before he started his junior year in college.
The family’s vacation plans hit a snag when Delta Airlines Flight 2019 was delayed for nearly two hours due to a crew issue. Despite taking off at 11:40 a.m., the flight was scheduled for 9:54 a.m. and was supposed to land in Orlando at 12:51 p.m., well before the cruise was set to depart from Port Canaveral at 3:30 p.m. As they arrived in Florida, the family rushed 45 miles to Cape Canaveral only to watch their ship sail away as they stood on the dock, forcing them to fly back home without securing accommodation for the late arrival.
The Brooklyn family was left devastated after missing out on their entire vacation and faced difficulties with getting refunds for their trip. While the cruise line refunded their money, Delta only offered them e-credit for a one-way trip worth $250 per traveler. LaSaine expressed her frustration at the loss of money she had put into the vacation. However, after ABC affiliate intervened, Delta eventually provided a full ticket refund of $2,600 and apologized for the delay that led to the family’s circumstances.
Weeks after the family’s vacation was ruined by the delayed flight, Delta flights were severely impacted by the CrowdStrike global outage, leading to over 6,000 flight cancellations over a six-day period. More than 500,000 passengers were left stranded, and the company reported losing $500 million as a result. This incident sheds light on the challenges faced by both passengers and airlines when dealing with unexpected delays and cancellations, highlighting the need for better customer service and accommodations for affected travelers. It serves as a reminder of the importance of being prepared for unforeseen circumstances when planning travel.
