Whether it’s spring break or summer vacations, all of us could use a little vacation.
But airline travel can be stressful when you factor in flight cancellations.
Connecticut’s Bradley International airport was among the 15th highest in the nation for flight cancellations due to bad storms and power outages, according to Insuremytrip.com.
Last November, Bradley experienced several power outages that forced hundreds to miss their flights.
"It was dark, everything was black and a sea of people. There had to be thousands and thousands of people,” said Kasie Provencal.
"Power came on and then it went off and then it came on and then it went off. And I've been waiting ever since. I missed my flight. They boarded it and sent off while waiting online and they rescheduled,” said Mike Labonte.
Airport officials say more than a handful of flights were canceled.
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Kevin Dillon, the executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority released this statement to NBC Connecticut news:
“Delays and cancellations vary year over year and are primarily caused by weather conditions and airline equipment issues. Very rarely are delays and cancellations generated by the airport itself. The vast majority of the airports in the top 20 ranking of this list are located in the northern part of the country, which is prone to inclement weather conditions and as such related flight disruptions. When compared to all the other major airports in the region (i.e. LGA, JFK, BOS, EWR and PVD), Bradley International Airport, which had a 2018 cancellation rate of 2.30 %, ranks the best on this list, with fewer cancellations than any of these airports.”
“It’s hard for an airline which is based predominantly or has a lot of flights in New England during the winter to have the same on time arrivals,” said Charlie Leocha, president and co-founder of Travelers’ United.
Travel expert Charlie Leocha says this causes a domino effect for the rest of your travel itinerary.
“If your flights’ canceled, you’ve already booked a hotel, you already have a rental car, and you can’t get out of some of those situations.”
Leocha tells us flight cancellations can be detrimental to the airlines themselves.
“DOT has got a special system set up for flight set up that are always late or canceled very often. If that happens, the airlines are penalized,” said Leocha.
He has recommendations to consumers.
“Always leave yourself time to make connections, if you’re connecting and if you got appointments going on, do not plan on arriving right on time,” Leocha said.
Leocha added that his company is working to get airline passengers more compensation when it comes to delayed or canceled flights.
