WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – A record number of flight delays left some eastern Iowans stranded away from home, including a Waterloo woman who was stuck in Dallas for nearly three days.
Ally Parker was vacationing in Arizona last week and was scheduled to fly back home to Waterloo Sunday with a layover in Dallas. With snow on the tarmac, the flight home got cancelled and American Airlines set her up in a local hotel and scheduled a flight for the next morning.
When Parker arrived at the airport Monday morning, she expected to be back home quickly.
“As soon as we get sat down, they delay our flight,” Parker said.
Throughout the course of the day, she had several flights delayed and cancelled. She didn’t find out why until the end of the day.
“First we didn’t have a plane to take back home, and then we’re learning there’s no crew available for our flight to be able to get back,” Parker said.
That night she was on a wait list with American Airlines until 3 a.m. She said the airline didn’t reimburse her hotel or refund her rebooked flight. And, because she checked her bags, she didn’t have access to any of her luggage.
“Thankfully we were able to stop and grab toothbrushes from the front desk of our hotel but otherwise, yeah, we were stuck in the same clothes for three days straight,” Parker said.
Tuesday, Parker’s morning flight was delayed until 7 p.m. Between missing work and needing to find someone to take care of her home and her dogs, her problems kept snowballing.
“You’re not able to feel clean, you’re not able to take care of your home, you’re paying for increased parking at the airport while you’re waiting to be able to get back. It’s all of these small things that continue to pile up to add on a ton of additional stress,” Parker said.
That 7 p.m. flight arrived and she made it home. But even now, she’s still without her luggage and no idea when it’ll make it back.
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