United Airlines allegedly leaves Chicago woman to sit on tarmac for 5 hours. An eternity later, her bad luck doesn’t end: ‘I don’t have any clothes’

Around the 4th of July, Becca Foggia had a travel day that she described as “the worst attempted travel day of my life.” She took to TikTok to post a video about how her attempts to “get back to the East Coast,” specifically Chicago, on United Airlines, turned into an exercise in patience. The clip shows her in a car, presumably on her way away from the airport, and it captures the frustration of a day that turned into a total disaster.

Foggia claimed that her “flight was delayed 5 hours. I sat on the tarmac, also, not even in the airport. And after five hours, we were deplaned, and still, we couldn’t rebook flights. We just had to sit there and wait for an update. Finally got canceled, and I never checked my bag, but of course, my bag got gate checked, and I have no idea where it is. I don’t have any clothes.” According to her, United didn’t provide any support or compensation. 

She told TikTok, “I am now headed back to my friend’s house. Thank god I have friends in the area and somewhere to stay, but they were doing no hotel vouchers, and, of course, the only outfit I have is these men’s basketball shorts and my hoodie. So, um, better luck tomorrow, I guess.” Foggia added, “There also is no available flights tomorrow until the afternoon, which I was lucky to even get that. Some people are on Tuesday flights. No idea what’s gonna happen.” 

Foggia said she was running on empty

While she didn’t specify the exact date, air travel on the 4th of July was severely impacted by weather disruptions. According to NBC Chicago, hundreds of flights were canceled, and significant delays hit O’Hare International Airport on the fourth as powerful thunderstorms moved through northern Illinois. It should be noted that those thunderstorms also brought whimsy to the Newark airport, where the ATC shut down airways to appreciate rainbows.

The outlet reported that the Federal Aviation Administration placed O’Hare under a ground delay program from 6:45 p.m. Saturday until 2:59 a.m. on Sunday. The agency then reported that flights were delayed an average of 5 hours and 13 minutes because of the storms. The Chicago Department of Aviation indicated that by 7:24 p.m., 359 flights had been canceled due to the weather.

An article by Travel and Tour World reported that weather conditions caused flight cancellations to surge across the United States. There with 2,952 delays and 169 cancellations reported at major hubs, including Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, and New York LaGuardia. Flights also had other surprise emergencies. In Chicago, a Delta flight was hit by a fireworks mortar as it was descending.

They noted that Chicago O’Hare saw the highest number of cancellations, with 67 flights grounded. The area was under a Level 2 severe weather risk, featuring damaging winds and localized flooding. These conditions created a domino effect for airlines like United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines. They then had to struggle to manage aircraft and crew rotations through their networks.

The comments on Foggia’s video show just how many other travelers were caught in similar webs of delays and cancellations. One user shared, “3.5 hours delay, got in the sky and circled around for 1.5 hours, deplaned at 11pm, stayed at the airport until 6am to rebook a flight to a different STATE.” 

Another user commented, “I was on the east coast trying to get back to Chicago — & sat on tarmac for 5 hrs too.” The weather impact was widespread. A user pointed out, “there have been terrible storms on the east coast, all throughout today. idk where you’re flying but where i’m from in NY there were trees down everywhere and my parents house had no power. good luck yall lol.”

Some travelers were left in even more difficult positions than Foggia. One user mentioned, “We got diverted to Richmond after 7 hours of delays, flight then canceled and it’s still not up in the air. Landed up taking an UBER from Virginia to the city.” Another person noted, “My flight was cancelled 3 times.” 

It is clear that Mother Nature can completely disrupt the skies. In weather emergencies,  Travel and Tour World advises that you should check your flight status frequently. They suggest signing up for airline notifications, too, and looking for rebooking options as early as possible. It is also important to keep your travel documents handy and stay in contact with your airline. 

At the end of it, Foggia only had one thing to say, “I slept for two hours last night. I’m running on empty. Pray for me.”