‘Sit there laughing at us while we all cry’: Wedding party tries to get on United Airlines flight from Nassau to Chicago. Then Kyle steps in

Issues with your flight are frustrating enough when you’re in your home country. Being stuck in another country, however, is a different story.

A bride-to-be and her bridesmaids say they experienced exactly that while trying to get home from a bachelorette trip in the Bahamas. According to TikTok creator Ellie Bierens (@ellie.bierens), a United Airlines supervisor named Kyle refused to let them check in for their flight from Nassau to Chicago. According to her, they arrived at the airport more than two hours before boarding.

Her video, where she shares her account of what happened, got over 439,000 views and more than 400 comments.

What Happened With This United Airlines Flight?

“This video is for United Airlines and specifically Kyle, you wonderful, wonderful person,” Bierens begins sarcastically.

She says the group was flying home from her bachelorette trip on Wednesday when the issue started soon after they entered the airport.

“We got to the airport over 2 hours before our boarding time,” she says. “We just walk in the door, haven’t said a word, nothing.”

Before they even headed toward a specific airline counter, Bierens says a supervisor came toward them.

“Kyle starts booking it towards us and says, ‘Are you going to Chicago?’” she recalls. “And we were like, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘Flight’s closed.’”

Bierens says the group didn’t understand because their app still showed they had time to check their bags.

According to Bierens, the supervisor then told them they would have needed to arrive based on the flight’s original departure time. Even though the flight had been delayed by two hours.

“So basically we would have had to just sit at the airport for over six hours to get on this flight, which makes no sense,” she says.

The group tried to explain that they had just checked out of their rental, taken a $110 taxi to the airport, and had work the next day. Bierens says they asked whether there was anything they could do.

“And he’s like, ‘Nope, nothing you can do. You can get on the flight tomorrow. Flight’s closed,’” she says.

The United Airlines Supervisor Wouldn’t Explain

Bierens says the group kept asking for clarification because they did not understand why they were being denied check-in.

According to her, Kyle did not offer much of an explanation.

“Doesn’t matter that you don’t understand,” she recalls him saying. “I’m the supervisor. I say flight’s closed, flight’s closed.”

Bierens says the tone of the interaction was upsetting.

“He was yelling at us to begin with before we even opened our mouths,” she says. “Speaking so rudely. I have never experienced somebody talking to me in this way that I don’t know for no reason, let alone a customer service person.”

She says the group became emotional because they were exhausted, stranded, and being told they had no way to get home that day.

After that, Bierens says Kyle sat with other United gate agents while the group tried to figure out what to do next.

“He proceeds to go sit with the other United gate agents and sit there laughing at us while we all cry on the phone with our parents,” she says.

According to Bierens, her father called United customer service, and the response he got did not match what they were being told at the airport.

“United is telling him that there is absolutely no reason why this should be happening,” she says. “If we’re there over two hours before our boarding time, we should be able to check in.”

Delta Got Them on Another Flight

Eventually, Bierens says the group went to Delta to see whether another airline could get them home.

That only made the United situation feel more confusing to her.

“We go talk to Delta, who is able to get us on a flight that is already boarding,” she says. “The flight is like in active boarding, and they’re able to book us a new flight and get us on this flight and check our bags.”

Because of that, the group had to buy new tickets on Delta.

“With checking our bags and everything, [it] cost more than our round trip tickets to the Bahamas that we had with United,” she says.

The new route also did not take them all the way home. Bierens says they were trying to get back to Grand Rapids, Michigan, but the Delta flight only got them from Nassau to Atlanta and then to Chicago.

“We didn’t land in Chicago until midnight,” she says. “We were supposed to get back to Grand Rapids at 9 on our original United flight.”

That meant they also had to pay for a hotel, food, and other expenses before flying back to Grand Rapids the next morning.

According to Bierens, the airline did eventually get them from Chicago to Grand Rapids, but that was the only help they got.

“We’ve filled out refunds and reimbursement forms, and one of them got denied by one of our friends,” she says. “And others have just not been getting responded to.”

She Says the Timing Made It Worse

Bierens says the added cost came at an already stressful time.

“I get married in less than a month,” she says. “Like I don’t have the extra money to just spend on a whole another flight when I already had my flight.”

She adds that her bridesmaids had already spent money to come on the bachelorette trip and were not expecting additional expenses.

“They were not expecting to have an extra like $700 that they had to pay for this trip,” she says.

Bierens says that even if United had a valid reason to deny them check-in, the way staff treated them was still unacceptable. “Absolutely insane,” she says. “Ridiculous.”

She asks United to address both the extra costs and the customer service experience.

“We’d love for United to do something about this,” she says. “Preferably help us out a little bit with the situation that you put us in and maybe also put Kyle in a different line of work, maybe not customer service.”

Commenters Said She May Have Been in the Wrong

In the comments section, some viewers said the group may have misunderstood how delayed international flights work.

“Even when your flight is delayed you’re expected to still arrive at the airport at the same time,” one user wrote.

“This is an international flight,” another said. “You are supposed to arrive 3 hours before the original time.”

Bierens pushed back on that, saying the three-hour window is not a hard rule.

“Nobody who travels frequently arrives to the airport 3 hours early,” she replied. “This is also a suggestion not required. The app shows the time you have to check in by, and we were there well before this time.”

Others argued that, if United could not get them on the original flight, the airline should have helped book them on another one.

“Per airline rules, if they can’t put you on a flight, they should put you on another flight on another airline at no charge,” one commenter wrote.

How Did United Airlines Respond?

In a follow-up video, Bierens said the airline had reached out to the group and offered to refund the food and hotel expenses they incurred in Chicago.

As for the flight itself, which was the most hefty expense for the group, United Airlines allegedly told them their policy states they can’t cover flights taken with other airlines.

“In place of that, they sent us a $100 United voucher,” she said in the video. “Which is appreciated, but that’s still a lot of money that we can’t get back.”

What Are United’s Check-In Rules?

According to United Airlines, the check-in limit for international flights is at least 60 minutes. Some locations, however, do require 75, 90, or 120 minutes.

The Bahamas isn’t on the special time-limit list, so it appears to fall under the regular 60-minute cutoff.

The airline notes, “If you don’t meet your check-in time limits, we’ll do our best to find another option. However, we have the right to deny service which may result in cancellation of your reservation, denied boarding or the option to check your bags.”

As for the idea that passengers should arrive based on the original departure time, even after a delay, that’s because delays can change at the last minute. However, airlines usually inform passengers if there’s a chance the flight could move back up.

After all, some flights are delayed by five or more hours, or even pushed to another day. In those cases, an airline would likely not expect passengers to follow the original departure time exactly.

Additionally, Bierens says the flight ended up leaving at the delayed time. The information in the app allegedly also showed they were at the airport in time and should have been able to check in.

@ellie.bierens KYLE ARMBRISTER at United Airlines… @United Airlines #unitedairlines #kyle #stranded ♬ original sound – Elliebierens

The Mary Sue has reached out to United Airlines via email and Bierens via TikTok messages for comments more information.

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