In this article, Christopher Elliot uncovers the truth about weather and flight delays. Passengers who were duped by the airlines’ into thinking that weather was the primary cause of their late departure, think again. The truth is that the airlines’ consider bad weather occuring anywhere in the system an “act of God.” This is because if a flight is delayed by “bad weather,” the airlines are not liable for montary compensation to passengers if a flight has been delayed by weather.
Blaming the weather has become “a giant loophole that the airline likes to fly through.” Currently, the airlines’ do not face any formal audit by the FAA if a flight has been delayed due to weather, its all based on the “honor system.” This in turn, gives the airlines a golden ticket to claim mild weather conditions as causes for delays.
Elliot writes “next time an airline says your flight is canceled because of the weather, don’t bother looking out your window. Because what you see doesn’t really matter.”