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Do Airlines Lie About Weather Delays To Avoid Compensation?
I read that airlines sometimes blame delays on the weather affecting the inbound flight, even when that’s not true, so they don’t have to compensate passengers.
Is this true?
And is there any way around it?
This happened to me a few years ago.
My flight was delayed, and they said it was due to weather on the incoming international flight.
My flight was also long-haul, so it’s unlikely there was any overlap in the flight crews.
Additionally, there was another flight leaving just 45 minutes earlier that I didn’t know about until it was too late to switch.
I had travel insurance, but it still bothers me that they used a weather delay excuse in this situation.
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3 Replies
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They always lie.
Anyone who has flown often knows this.
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I guess it’s possible, and maybe an airline has used this excuse before.
However, they have to record and report operational delays to aviation officials in the countries where they operate.
This is to keep track of schedules and help flight control monitor trends.
So, an airline could lie about it, but there has to be accurate documentation that the public can usually access.
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Yes and no.
Weather is often given as a reason for flight delays, and it’s usually not questioned.
However, that doesn’t mean weather wasn’t actually the cause.
Even if weather isn’t the reason, there are few compensation options in the US, aside from being bumped from a flight.
Weather can impact a flight that starts at 7:00 AM on the West Coast, even if your flight on the East Coast isn’t until 7:00 PM.
You might check the local radar or the departure location and see no issues, but still think weather wasn’t the cause.
When severe weather hits, it can disrupt flights across the entire country.
Over the past 18 months, we’ve learned that the flight system is always close to breaking down.
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