What was your longest delay at the airport?

Answer 1

Quite a few years ago (in the 1990's) I was returning from a business meeting in the DC area during a snow storm. Even though I arrived at the airport less than 20 minutes before the scheduled flight departure, they checked me in; that was at 5:30 p.m. We boarded the DC10 at around 6.

The plane took off to San Francisco after 11:30 p.m. We sat in the plane for 5 hours on the ground and nearly 6 hours in the air.

During our delay the plane was de-iced at least 3 times, beginning at the gate, and then out at the taxiway. Our final de-icing took nearly an hour because the service vehicle ran out of the de-icing solution midway through the process and had to head back to the maintenance shop to reload. between the round trip and reloading it was another half hour after which they had to restart the de-icing of our plane.

I was lucky. I had taken a frequent flier upgrade to first class. I had a lovely extended conversation with the business reporter of one of our local TV stations. Had he been any other TV "journalist", that would have been a painful encoiunter, but he was that rare broadcast personality whom I genuinely respected.

They did not serve dinner while we waited and beverages were only available in first class (where they don't need to roll a cart out to serve.)

But I consider myself fortunate. My next door neighbor was in Dallas on September 11, 2001. He eventually gave up waiting and drove a rental car from Dallas/Ft. Worth airport to just north of San Francisco.

Answer 2

Only 11 hours, but I was 12 so it seemed like an eternity. Especially since I was in St. Louis and that airport is 99 terminals LONG... Doesn't sound too bad, right?

Well, we had just gotten off a 3 hour flight that was delayed as well. Then my mother, the sweet lady she is, had me running back and forth to go get these old ladies ice cream. The parlor was at the other end of the airport and as soon as I got one for ONE lady, another would see it and say, "oh, boy, doesn't that looks swell..." so you guessed it, I made several trips to that damn ice cream shop and our flight was delayed due to a snow storm! Who dies for ice cream at a time like that? GIVE ME A BREAK!

Answer 3

Longest delay was six hours while the airlines brought in parts to repair the plane. The biggest surprise was actually getting through security with a boarding pass that was over a week old! So much for security!!

Answer 4

In May 2001 at LaGuardia airport when all afternoon flights after 3 pm were cancelled due to bad weather and the next flight offered was at 9:00 am on the following day.

Answer 5

Overnight, 6+ hrs in the Philly international airport. Not pleasent, we slept in a hallway because all of the hotels were sold out and didn't have a car. And we used a table skirt as a blanket, brr it gets cold in there!

Answer 6

5 hours, when they needed to check my passport and the other certifications b/c I'm from other country. They did three interviews with me and asked me a lot a lot of questions, and I lost the other airplanes to go the next state b/c of all that. It was a very very very long delay.

Answer 7

when I was 10 years old I stayed at the airport for one day cz I forgot my passport I was travelling to kaseem in saudi arabia from cairo , I was delayed in jeddah airport [ the one stop air port ] also at the american airport I 'm having such hardtime for nothing

Answer 8

after flying for 5 hours and the time change, 16 hours in LAX, when the pilots werent into only able to fly past 8hours, and the airlines couldnt find pilots to fill in.
what a nightmare, I would have gotten home sooner if I would have thought of taking Greyhound home.
and once in Brazil 3 days. all the flights were booked and to think I paid for my ticket.
but the worst was LA, so close to home, but yet so far away.

Answer 9

2 hours

Answer 10

Four hours, but I was lucky, my parents were stuck for two days in Idaho because of ice. The really ironic part is that they were coming back from Tuscon, Arizona.