North Carolina Woman Boards American Airlines Flight. Then They Make Everyone Deplane After Waiting For 7 Hours

Sitting in traffic is terrible. But there's a case to be made that sitting on a plane waiting to take off is worse. Not just because you usually have no idea what's going on. Because you can't pull off the figurative road and just take a break.

Recently, Kenna (@kennaaaaswrld) says she got stuck on an American Airlines aircraft. She detailed the inconvenience in a TikTok that's garnered over 936,000 views.

At the time of her scheduled departure, the weather in North Carolina was terrible. It resulted in an initial delay of 45 minutes on her red-eye to London. No big deal. She and her traveling companion, Cael, ate bagels while they waited. “We're those people on the flight who're eating before it even takes off,” she joked in her post.

What Happened On The American Airlines Flight?

Kenna and Cael were planning a 100-mile hike through the French Alps. They needed to make their connections to make their bus and start the hike. They'd reserved hostels along the way, so keeping their schedule was important.

The initial delay, she says, was just the beginning of a series of mishaps that would take days to rectify. After the initial lightning delay of about 45 minutes, there was another delay, another, and another, Kenna says. Finally, at 1:13 a.m., a representative of American Airlines reportedly announced, “Unfortunately at this time, the flight is going to cancel.”

The next day, Kenna and Cael returned to the airport. Their new itinerary was from North Carolina to Puerto Rico, then to Spain, and from there to Switzerland. Upon landing in Puerto Rico, however, they purportedly discovered their baggage was not on the flight.

By then they were 24 hours behind their hiking schedule.

Kenna claims that for their trouble, American Airlines gave them a $12 food voucher. She alleges that it “can't even buy us one of these personal pan pizzas.”

Then, after connecting through Madrid, Spain, Kenna says they arrived in Geneva, Switzerland—without hotel reservations or luggage. But she says American Airlines assured them their luggage would arrive the next day.

So they wandered around the city, bought some necessities, and found a place to stay. Which Kenna says was five people in a one person room, and “definitely illegal.”

The next day, their luggage finally arrived.

“We are actually going to be able to do this hike now,” Kenna says. As for those missed hostel reservations? She wasn't worried. They brought camping equipment.

How Long Can Airlines Keep Passengers On The Tarmac?

According to federal regulations, in America, “For all domestic flights, each covered U.S. air carrier shall provide a passenger on a flight experiencing a tarmac delay at a U.S. airport the opportunity to deplane before the tarmac delay exceeds three hours in duration.” For international flights, the on-tarmac time is extended to four hours.

There are exceptions to this rule. These include safety and disruption concerns. One exception applies if “pilot-in-command determines that deplaning passengers [..] would jeopardize passenger safety or security.” Another exists if “air traffic control advises the pilot-in-command that returning […] to deplane passengers would significantly disrupt airport operations.”

American Airlines did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Risk Of Flying In Lightning

Many who commented on her post mentioned the federal four-hour rule. A few provided additional context.

“Not able to deboard because of lighting. No one in the jetway is allowed,” said razmothe_.

A user identifying themselves as a pilot confirmed. “As a pilot there's nothing we can do,” they wrote. “Lightening stops ground crew for safety and each strike within a certain distance resets the clock. After that we have duty times. We'll do everything we can with some provisions but once a certain time hits we can get in serious trouble if we leave. I get it's frustrating but I promise you we want to do the flight as much as you want to.”

Research backs this up. Most airports have specific rules concerning lightning strikes for the safety of passengers and ground crews alike. These rules are purportedly not standardized across all U.S. airports, the general radius is three to five miles. This means if there is active lightning activity within those parameters, it stops airport activity.

BoardingArea reached out to American Airlines via their media contact, and to Kenna via email and TikTok direct message. We will update this if either reply.

@kennaaaswrld @American Airlines you didn't have to do us like this. #americanairlines #eurosummer #flightdelay #airportvlog #travel ♬ original sound – KENNA