Here are 20 of this summer's worst airline horror stories — from lost wedding dresses to a 13-month-old booked on a different flight than her parents

Hannah Towey,Kate DuffyAug 3, 2022, 00:15 IST

Flight delays and cancellations will likely continue throughout the summer, analysts told Insider.James D. Morgan/Getty Images

Summer 2022 has seen mass travel return to close to pre-pandemic levels after two years of decline.
But as airports and airlines readjust, passengers are facing mass delays and lost luggage.

1. Qantas booked a 13-month-old baby on a separate flight than her parents from Europe to Thailand. The family was stuck in Rome for 12 days until the next available flight. They spent over 20 hours on the phone to Qantas' customer helpline.

A family of Qantas passengers were stuck in Rome for almost two weeks.Ryan Fletcher/Shutterstock

1. Qantas booked a 13-month-old baby on a separate flight than her parents from Europe to Thailand. The family was stuck in Rome for 12 days until the next available flight. They spent over 20 hours on the phone to Qantas' customer helpline.

2. Delta Airlines staff forgot to put a passenger's wheelchair on his flight from New York to Dublin. The man spent two days on vacation without his wheelchair — he even thought about flying back home to collect a spare one.

Tim Kelly's wheelchair was lost and damaged in transit.Courtesy of Tim Kelly

2. Delta Airlines staff forgot to put a passenger's wheelchair on his flight from New York to Dublin. The man spent two days on vacation without his wheelchair — he even thought about flying back home to collect a spare one.

3. Air Canada revoked an employee's flying privileges after her daughter complained about poor customer service when boarding a flight with the airline.

Air Canada has suffered a series of mishaps during the summer of travel chaos.NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty

4. A woman lost her luggage worth $1,000, which had her jewelry and wedding dress inside, when flying from Lisbon to Dublin via Frankfurt. She had to buy extra clothes for her honeymoon, she told Insider. Her maid of honor also lost her baggage but located it with an Apple AirTag.

Lisbon has been a popular spot for American tourists on vacation in 2022.Contributor/iStock/Gett Images

4. A woman lost her luggage worth $1,000, which had her jewelry and wedding dress inside, when flying from Lisbon to Dublin via Frankfurt. She had to buy extra clothes for her honeymoon, she told Insider. Her maid of honor also lost her baggage but located it with an Apple AirTag.

5. A Delta flight was forced to make a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean after the crew found out there was a fuel imbalance. The plane had to return to New York's JFK airport.

YouTuber Arieh Smith said he feared for his life during the ordeal in late July.Delta Air Lines

5. A Delta flight was forced to make a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean after the crew found out there was a fuel imbalance. The plane had to return to New York's JFK airport.

6. American Airlines told a passenger to collect his bag himself, despite it being found 4,000 miles away in London Heathrow airport.

Heathrow in London has seen huge queues and piles of luggage.Adam Kent

7. American Airlines canceled a 10-year-old passenger's connecting flight but failed to inform her parents. Her mother said she was traveling alone and was crying on the phone.

The child was given lunch vouchers but was told she had to pay for dinner herself.Getty Images

7. American Airlines canceled a 10-year-old passenger's connecting flight but failed to inform her parents. Her mother said she was traveling alone and was crying on the phone.

8. American Airlines told passengers to get off a plane they had just boarded after a 5-hour delay because the pilots had timed out. A pilot who has worked at the airline for 23 years told Insider that pilots "absolutely hate doing this to our passengers."

With shortages of staff, some employees are working more hours than usual.AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

8. American Airlines told passengers to get off a plane they had just boarded after a 5-hour delay because the pilots had timed out. A pilot who has worked at the airline for 23 years told Insider that pilots "absolutely hate doing this to our passengers."

9. Passengers had to wait on a plane with limited air-conditioning and food-and-drink services for six hours. American Airlines said the delay was because of maintenance issues and weather conditions.

Genna Contino, a reporter for The Charlotte Observer, said passengers were sobbing on the plane.Robert Alexander/Getty Images

9. Passengers had to wait on a plane with limited air-conditioning and food-and-drink services for six hours. American Airlines said the delay was because of maintenance issues and weather conditions.

10. Passengers onboard a British Airways flight received an email in the middle of their flight saying their connection had been canceled. To top it off, some passengers lost their luggage.

The passengers were heading to Scotland to watch The Open golf tournament.Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

10. Passengers onboard a British Airways flight received an email in the middle of their flight saying their connection had been canceled. To top it off, some passengers lost their luggage.

11. A maid of honor traveling to her sister's wedding in Greece says Air Canada lost her bridesmaid dress and turned her trip back into a four-day "nightmare." A pilot friend ended up flying her home through a thunderstorm in a four-seater plane over Lake Michigan.

Flying over the Michigan shoreline heading into the thunderstorm (left) and lost baggage piling up at the Athens airport (right).Courtesy of Kailey and Ryan Hagen

11. A maid of honor traveling to her sister's wedding in Greece says Air Canada lost her bridesmaid dress and turned her trip back into a four-day "nightmare." A pilot friend ended up flying her home through a thunderstorm in a four-seater plane over Lake Michigan.

12. A teacher and firefighter from Colorado only made it to their honeymoon cruise in Italy after an American Airlines crew member gave up his extra stand-by ticket. An Air Canada delay caused them to miss their layover and lose their luggage.

Barry Winiker/Getty Images

12. A teacher and firefighter from Colorado only made it to their honeymoon cruise in Italy after an American Airlines crew member gave up his extra stand-by ticket. An Air Canada delay caused them to miss their layover and lose their luggage.

13. A mother-daughter vacation booked in 2019 and pushed back two years due to the pandemic was thrown into disarray after Delta delayed their flights two days. They received their baggage 32 days later.

Angela Hyre and her 14-year-old daughter Sydney.Courtesy of Angela Hyre

13. A mother-daughter vacation booked in 2019 and pushed back two years due to the pandemic was thrown into disarray after Delta delayed their flights two days. They received their baggage 32 days later.

14. A senior manager at a travel logistics firm with an $11,000 flight to a work conference in Europe says Air Canada "begged" 25 people to get off the plane because it was too heavy to take off. Then they lost his bag.

Flying internationally on an Air Canada 787.Taylor Rains/Insider

14. A senior manager at a travel logistics firm with an $11,000 flight to a work conference in Europe says Air Canada "begged" 25 people to get off the plane because it was too heavy to take off. Then they lost his bag.

15. A 34-year-old with fibromyalgia and lupus told Insider she was "abandoned" in her wheelchair by Air Canada after her flight was canceled. Fellow passengers had to push her and other travelers with disabilities through the airport, she added.

Morgan Jones (left) Toronto Airport (right)Morgan Jones (left) Yu Ruidong/China News Service via Getty Images (right)

15. A 34-year-old with fibromyalgia and lupus told Insider she was "abandoned" in her wheelchair by Air Canada after her flight was canceled. Fellow passengers had to push her and other travelers with disabilities through the airport, she added.

16. A couple in their eighties got stuck in Mexico and ran out of heart medication after their flight was canceled twice.

Michael Romain and his wife Catherine.Michael Romain

17. A family of four missed a $5,500 Disney cruise purchased as a birthday gift for their children after Air Canada cancelled their flight. Instead, the family spent the holiday weekend in multiple airports sleeping "on benches," they told Insider.

Passengers in Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 22, 2022.Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images

17. A family of four missed a $5,500 Disney cruise purchased as a birthday gift for their children after Air Canada cancelled their flight. Instead, the family spent the holiday weekend in multiple airports sleeping "on benches," they told Insider.

18. Air Canada sent a passenger's cats from Toronto to San Francisco without him – and then told him to go pick them up. The airline will no longer allow pets to travel in the baggage compartment until September 12, 2022.

Abbas Zoeb tried to board a flight from Toronto to San Francisco. He was denied, but his cat's flew anyway.Abbas Zoeb

18. Air Canada sent a passenger's cats from Toronto to San Francisco without him – and then told him to go pick them up. The airline will no longer allow pets to travel in the baggage compartment until September 12, 2022.

19. A man who was kicked off a Hawaiian Airlines flight over an "invalid ticket" after boarding a plane to Maui with his daughter, took his frustrations to TikTok as part of a viral cautionary tale.

TikTok/Ryan DeMarre

19. A man who was kicked off a Hawaiian Airlines flight over an "invalid ticket" after boarding a plane to Maui with his daughter, took his frustrations to TikTok as part of a viral cautionary tale.

20. An Air Canada passenger who deliberately took only a carry-on to avoid luggage chaos says she was made to check the bag anyway, only for it to go missing.

Luggage piling up at Heathrow's Terminal 5.Adam Kent

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Here are 20 of this summer's worst airline horror stories &mdash; from lost wedding dresses to a 13-month-old booked on a different flight than her parents

1. Qantas booked a 13-month-old baby on a separate flight than her parents from Europe to Thailand. The family was stuck in Rome for 12 days until the next available flight. They spent over 20 hours on the phone to Qantas' customer helpline.

2. Delta Airlines staff forgot to put a passenger's wheelchair on his flight from New York to Dublin. The man spent two days on vacation without his wheelchair — he even thought about flying back home to collect a spare one.

3. Air Canada revoked an employee's flying privileges after her daughter complained about poor customer service when boarding a flight with the airline.

4. A woman lost her luggage worth $1,000, which had her jewelry and wedding dress inside, when flying from Lisbon to Dublin via Frankfurt. She had to buy extra clothes for her honeymoon, she told Insider. Her maid of honor also lost her baggage but located it with an Apple AirTag.

5. A Delta flight was forced to make a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean after the crew found out there was a fuel imbalance. The plane had to return to New York's JFK airport.

6. American Airlines told a passenger to collect his bag himself, despite it being found 4,000 miles away in London Heathrow airport.

7. American Airlines canceled a 10-year-old passenger's connecting flight but failed to inform her parents. Her mother said she was traveling alone and was crying on the phone.

8. American Airlines told passengers to get off a plane they had just boarded after a 5-hour delay because the pilots had timed out. A pilot who has worked at the airline for 23 years told Insider that pilots "absolutely hate doing this to our passengers."

9. Passengers had to wait on a plane with limited air-conditioning and food-and-drink services for six hours. American Airlines said the delay was because of maintenance issues and weather conditions.

10. Passengers onboard a British Airways flight received an email in the middle of their flight saying their connection had been canceled. To top it off, some passengers lost their luggage.

11. A maid of honor traveling to her sister's wedding in Greece says Air Canada lost her bridesmaid dress and turned her trip back into a four-day "nightmare." A pilot friend ended up flying her home through a thunderstorm in a four-seater plane over Lake Michigan.

12. A teacher and firefighter from Colorado only made it to their honeymoon cruise in Italy after an American Airlines crew member gave up his extra stand-by ticket. An Air Canada delay caused them to miss their layover and lose their luggage.

13. A mother-daughter vacation booked in 2019 and pushed back two years due to the pandemic was thrown into disarray after Delta delayed their flights two days. They received their baggage 32 days later.

14. A senior manager at a travel logistics firm with an $11,000 flight to a work conference in Europe says Air Canada "begged" 25 people to get off the plane because it was too heavy to take off. Then they lost his bag.

15. A 34-year-old with fibromyalgia and lupus told Insider she was "abandoned" in her wheelchair by Air Canada after her flight was canceled. Fellow passengers had to push her and other travelers with disabilities through the airport, she added.

16. A couple in their eighties got stuck in Mexico and ran out of heart medication after their flight was canceled twice.

17. A family of four missed a $5,500 Disney cruise purchased as a birthday gift for their children after Air Canada cancelled their flight. Instead, the family spent the holiday weekend in multiple airports sleeping "on benches," they told Insider.

18. Air Canada sent a passenger's cats from Toronto to San Francisco without him – and then told him to go pick them up. The airline will no longer allow pets to travel in the baggage compartment until September 12, 2022.

19. A man who was kicked off a Hawaiian Airlines flight over an "invalid ticket" after boarding a plane to Maui with his daughter, took his frustrations to TikTok as part of a viral cautionary tale.

20. An Air Canada passenger who deliberately took only a carry-on to avoid luggage chaos says she was made to check the bag anyway, only for it to go missing.

Here are 20 of this summer's worst airline horror stories — from lost wedding dresses to a 13-month-old booked on a different flight than her parents