Boston Logan International Airport fixed a bizarre fueling system problem that grounded flights over the holiday weekend. Then low clouds showed up and delayed arrivals for nearly three hours.
Anyone flying through Boston Logan over the past few days has been given a surprisingly thorough lesson in how many different things can ruin an airline schedule.
On Sunday, it was fuel.
A problem with Logan’s fueling system forced the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop, leaving aircraft unable to depart while delays and cancellations piled up during the busy Fourth of July travel period.
The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan, said fuel operations were back to normal by late Sunday night. Flights resumed, the original problem was fixed, and the airport could finally start untangling the mess.
Unfortunately, nobody told the weather the emergency was over.
Low Clouds Bring Nearly Three-Hour Delays
By Tuesday, the FAA was again managing traffic into Boston Logan. This time, the problem was weather and low ceilings.
At one point, the agency’s airport status page showed arriving flights facing average delays of 2 hours and 45 minutes.
In other words, Logan went from having airplanes that could not get fuel to having fueled airplanes waiting for the sky to cooperate.
The timing could hardly have been worse. A major ground stop does not need to permanently break an airport to create a serious travel headache. Aircraft miss departures, passengers miss connections, and gates suddenly become occupied by planes that were supposed to be somewhere else.
Then another disruption arrives. The result can spread through an airline network faster than gossip in an airport lounge. That is especially painful during the peak summer travel season, when airlines are already moving huge numbers of passengers, and there is less room in the schedule to absorb a bad day.
The fuel system came back online. Boston’s clouds apparently missed the memo.
Know When an Airline Owes You a Refund
For passengers, the important question quickly changes from “Why is my flight delayed?” to “What am I supposed to do now?”
The answer depends on what happens to the flight and whether you still decide to travel.
Under Department of Transportation rules, if an airline cancels a flight or significantly changes or delays it and you choose not to take the changed itinerary or alternative transportation offered, you are entitled to a refund.
That distinction matters before accepting the first voucher or rebooking option pushed through an airline app.
Anyone staring at a departure board that suddenly turns into a wall of red should know when airlines owe you a refund before making the next move.
Of course, outdoor enthusiasts watching another airport disruption unfold may be reconsidering the whole flying part of summer vacation.
Anyone who recently checked whether TSA allows tents and other camping gear on planes may now be wondering whether throwing everything into the SUV was the smarter travel strategy.
(Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)
Sure, the highway has traffic. Someone will inevitably camp in the left lane. And your carefully planned departure time will probably disappear the moment somebody asks for a bathroom stop. But at least a low cloud ceiling cannot ground your Subaru Forester.
Boston Logan’s fuel problem was fixed Sunday night. For a while, the weather simply gave those fueled airplanes nowhere to go.
Source: Life – Fitness – mensjournal
