With U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand calling for an investigation into potentially unfair business practices by the airline industry during record delays and cancellations, we asked readers about their recent experiences at City airports.

 

“I’ve had some problems changing flights; we had delays, yes, all of that. Right now, my grandson is coming back from Florida, and they just switched his flight to Sprint. So right now, we’re waiting for his COVID test. He’s been stuck for two days already. No, the airline didn’t put him up in a hotel; my son took him home and now he has to go back to the airport. My problem was switching flights, but I made it home. Getting out of New York is not the problem; coming into New York is the problem. The airlines aren’t helping people at all. Yes, I do think they should investigate the industry. I think the companies should reimburse people. At the very least, they should not charge extra for the ticket in order to change flights, as it’s not your fault.”

Debra Richards,

Mt. Vernon, NY

“While driving up to the airport ramp, there was nowhere for me to pick up my brother, whose flight was delayed coming in from Puerto Rico. There were all these double-parked cars and taxis, but no police present. I called my brother and he told me he’s still on the plane, and the plane had no permission to open the gates and they had no air conditioning, and the planes were coming in back-to-back. On the plane, babies were crying, and they offered no water to passengers, and then they couldn’t find the planes’ luggage due to the delay. We just drove around and around until he got his luggage, a waste of time and gas, horrible! My brother has a medical condition, and it could have been really bad because his medication was in his luggage. There was turmoil all around, people running to other airlines to rebook flights, crowds pushing and yelling. My brother made it out after a 3-hour delay. Yes, an investigation is needed into the practice of double-booking a flight.

Sandra Pabon,

Norwood 

“As I travel, I haven’t been impacted too much so far. I’m now in Valencia. First, it was Iceland and no delays with Icelandic Airlines, which was sort of a nice surprise. From Iceland to Ireland, I used a little-known carrier with no delay. We have been using trains for now and the next stop is Italy, and then the United Kingdom. I can understand the delays and cancellations as airlines cope with the higher cost of fuel and health issues. There were many, many tourists at all of the places we’ve visited, and it’s been hot all over, except for Iceland.”

Lewis Chaim,

Pelham Bay

“It’s frustrating when you have dancers that you’ve booked at events, and they miss out on events when they come back home. Last week, two of my dancers got stuck. They were supposed to leave early from Miami so they could get to another show in New York, but that didn’t work. They were delayed again so they came the next day. Today, another dancer’s plane was delayed. What’s the cause? This not only affects the person, but the projects or jobs they’re involved with. To go through all these headaches is sad, especially when you’re working as a nonprofit organization and these delays affect our projects and programs.”

Violeta Galagarza,

Manhattan

 

“My friend left for his flight at 3 p.m. yesterday, and he just texted now, a whole 24-hours later, that he just got home from a 3-hour flight. He was there on time and the flight was cancelled and he wasn’t told why. He’s just been waiting out there. It kind of sucks because people have jobs they have to go back to, and it affects their everyday life because they could get fired or serious consequences can happen from things that they can’t control, like a cancelled flight, and they’re not giving any explanation. They should investigate because I’m taking a flight in September, and I don’t need that happening to me or anyone else. We live in a busy city, and we can’t afford our time to be wasted.”

Angeli Pagan,

The Hub