United Airlines plane full of families leaves Orlando for Chicago. Then the flight goes sideways for 8 hours: ‘They haven’t let us off’
The U.S. has been experiencing extreme winter weather, with icy conditions recently spreading even across southern states.
While Chicago is no stranger to harsh, cold winters, some passengers are reporting unusual disruptions to air travel. Recently, one TikTok creator filmed what that looked like from inside the plane.
Creator Ashley (@aeggerswi) posted a short clip of her husband carrying their baby walking around the aisle, paired with a choir of baby cries in the background. Her video got over 2.3 million views.
“United Airlines has a plane full of people, including many children, that left Orlando at 12:30 p.m. that was supposed to be a 2.5 hour flight,” she wrote in the video’s caption. “It’s 8 hours later and they haven’t let us off the plane yet.”
She continues, “We circled for at least an hour because of weather at Chicago, diverted us to Grand Rapids where we sat on the tarmac for hours, and then they tell us we’re getting off but there’s no food and they still don’t have a plan. What a [expletive] joke.”
Commenters Blame United Airlines
In the comments section, many viewers said the situation sounded panic-inducing and felt the airline mishandled it. Others shared similar experiences.
“That should be illegal,” wrote one viewer. “Shame on United airlines.”
“My dad was on this plane he didn’t get home until 6 AM the NEXT DAY!” another shared. “You all deserved so much better.”
“It once took me 31 hours to get from Singapore to LA, with a 4 month old,” a third said. “Sat on the tarmac in Osaka for hours.”
Not everyone blamed the airline. “How is weather United fault?” they wrote. “Safety comes first. You’ll be fine.”
Ashley responded, writing, “The weather isn’t, everybody was understanding about being delayed due to weather. They had us sitting on the tarmac for hours then as we were about to leave they told us the pilot ran out of duty time which could have been predicted. We were told the pilots felt they felt fine to do the flight and the FAA shut them down as they were about to leave. That’s not how duty time works.”
Ashley also shared a timeline of the ordeal, saying they boarded at 11:45 a.m. and didn’t arrive back in Orlando until a.m. the next day.
Were There Issues With Air Travel in Chicago in Early February?
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a ground stop was in effect Friday afternoon due to snow and ice. The publication reported temperatures around 17 degrees, along with incoming lake-effect snow.
That could help explain the delays Ashley described, as planes aren’t allowed to take off or possibly land in Chicago while a ground stop is in effect.
One Reddit user who stated they’re an airline employee also warned those traveling from Orlando this past weekend that temperatures are dropping and they could be seeing delays. Commenters under the post confirmed, with one writing, “They just cancelled my flight through MCO.”
@aeggerswi @United Airlines has a plane full of people including many children that left Orlando at 12:30p that was supposed to be a 2.5 hour flight. It’s 8 hours later and they haven’t let us off the plane yet. We circled for at least an hour because of weather at Chicago, diverted us to Grand Rapids where we sat on the tarmac for hours, and then they tell us we’re getting off but there’s no food and they still don’t have a plan. What a fucking joke #unitedairlines #flying #travel #nightmare #fyp ♬ Cycle Syncing Frequency – Still Haven
The Mary Sue reached out to United Airlines via email and to Ashley via TikTok messages for comment and more information.
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