Passengers express frustration as they miss memorials, cancel cruises, sleep on the floor because of flight fiascos
DENVER – With thousands of flights canceled or delayed around the U.S. ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend, a joke from the Federal Aviation Administration about unruly passengers left some stranded travelers frustrated.
"It’s disappointing to me to hear that the FAA is tweeting jokes about unruly passengers," Corinne told Fox News at the Denver International Airport. "They’re tweeting while people are losing money, losing wages."
PASSENGERS REACT TO WIDESPREAD FLIGHT CANCELATIONS AHEAD OF FOURTH OF JULY
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"FAA get your act together!" said Debby who had to sleep on the floor overnight with her husband as they tried to travel to Iceland. "They should be helping us, not making fun of us."
"I was ticked!" she said about hearing her flight was canceled. "Just seems like they could be better organized."
"There's nothing puzzling about bad behavior on a flight - it doesn’t fly and can cost you big [money] or jail time," the FAA tweeted Tuesday afternoon with a picture of a Wheel of Fortune puzzle spelling out "unruly passengers."
The FAA did not respond to Fox News’ request for a comment about the tweet.
More than 9,000 flights have been canceled since Monday with another nearly 116,000 delayed, according to airline tracker Flight Aware. United Airlines alone made up 500 cancelations at the Denver International Airport, one of the busiest airlines in the world.
OVER 4,000 FLIGHTS DISRUPTED IN US, UNITED AIRLINES MOST IMPACTED
Corrine, who was traveling through Denver International Airport, told Fox News that the FAA's tweet about unruly passengers was "disappointing" amid wide-scale flight cancelations. (Ethan Barton/Fox News Digital)
"I blame the airlines themselves," said Janette, who was traveling to New Orleans. "I think they are overbooking and not taking the time to consider the customers."
Janette couldn't find an alternative flight after her initial one was canceled. She ultimately had to abandon her cruise vacation entirely.
United Airlines blamed its cancelations on weather and FAA staffing constraints. In a statement to Fox News, the airline said conditions are improving as they have "all-hands-on-deck" now to fix the situation and that it hopes to be "on track to restore" operations for the holiday weekend. The FAA denied United's claim.
Amy's flight was rescheduled six times and ultimately canceled in the middle of the night, causing her to can her trip to Syracuse for her aunt's memorial. Her bags were also lost.
"All my family is there, and we can’t get there," Amy said.
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Bradley called the delays at Denver International Airport "ridiculous." (Ethan Barton/Fox News Digital)
Bradley started his travels in Richmond but got stuck in Denver on his way to Montana. He said his flight was delayed several hours. Then shortly after boarding at midnight, passengers were taken off the plane because the pilots were over their flight hours.
"It’s gotten to the point where it's ridiculous," he said.
Patricia's flight to Orlando was canceled overnight. So was a second Thursday morning.
"I haven’t slept, it’s uncomfortable," she said.
"They aren’t really helping us. They're not telling us nothing," Patricia continued. "All they do is send a notification to my son's phone that it’s canceled, but they don’t explain why it's canceled."
Isaac, who was en route to from Montana to Hawaii, also voiced frustration over a delay.
UNITED CEO SCOTT KIRBY SLAMS FAA FOR FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS, DELAYS
There were long lines at Denver International Airport Thursday as dozens of flights were cancelled. (Ethan Barton/Fox News Digital)
"I left work early and everything," he said. "I could’ve stayed and worked the rest of the day."
Peggy, who was traveling from Denver to Vermont, showed up to the airport only to realize her flight was already canceled.
"Everyone is in good spirits and everyone is being patient and kind to each other," she said, adding that the airline staff "couldn’t be nicer."
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, in a memo to staff, accused the FAA of failing them, writing that the agency reduced arrival rates at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of United hub’s. The FAA, in response, pointed to weather issues and told Fox News it will "always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem."
"With the exception of United, airlines have recovered to a more typical cancellation/delay rate as of this morning, after the severe weather earlier this week," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Thursday.
Isabelle McDonnell contributed to the accompanying video.
Ethan Barton is a producer/reporter for Digital Originals. You can reach him at
