A woman says her United Airlines flight stayed on the tarmac of Newark Liberty International Airport for five hours after the scheduled takeoff time. She says they only had one Biscoff cookie pack per passenger to tide them over.
In a video with over 239,000 views, TikToker Stan Theodore (@stantheodore) sits in her seat with her headphones on. She explains the United flight was supposed to leave around 3:30 pm, but it was still on the tarmac at 8:30 pm.
“We still have no update. The pilots timed out hours ago. There’s no water,” she says. “They’ve offered us drinks twice and Biscoff, one pouch.”
In a follow-up video, the TikToker shares that the plane eventually deplaned when another passenger had a “medical emergency.”
Her original flight would have her home by Wednesday evening. However, the soonest flight she could find gets her home by 11:30 pm on Friday.
“Customer service actually laughed at me when I asked if I could get a hotel voucher,” she says.
What Happened At Newark Liberty International Airport?
Inclement weather delayed, canceled, or held many flights on the Newark tarmac for up to seven hours on Wednesday, according to NBC New York. The long tarmac stays are unusual, considering that the Department of Transportation typically only lets planes sit with passengers for three hours before deplaning.
A traveler posted their experience sitting on the tarmac in a United Airlines flight on the r/unitedairlines subreddit. They say the weather wasn’t a surprise. However, sitting on the tarmac with little explanation was.
The passenger shares that they are “looking into legal options.”
“I was on a United flight to Milan, spent about 8 hrs on the tarmac, then deplaned, waited for a new crew then finally cancelled the flight,” another shares about their Wednesday flight. “Boarded at 4:30, flight was 5:15, they allowed us to deplaned and told to wait – rescanned people back on, updated new boarding time to 11:45, then cancelled at 12:15 or 12:30.”
How Would Viewers Handle The Situation?
In the comments of the viral TikTok, viewers say how they would handle sitting for hours on a tarmac in the middle of a storm.
“My personal item is always stuffed with snacks, my carryon has enough clothes for a couple days,” one says. “My husband use to get annoyed by how much crap I pack until we got stuck in Miami now he doesn’t question me.”
“I would panic. I was once on the tarmac for 2 hours and freaked out. There was no air!” another writes.
“I always bring hand sanitizer, snacks, drinks and tissues! Like camping,” a third jokes.
Others share how the delays directly impacted them on Wednesday.
“I had to drive to the DC airport at 11pm last to pick up my daughter who would’ve been stranded there til Friday. It’s about a 4 hour drive for me,” a commenter adds.
“My son and family were on a plane from 6-9:30 at Newark but finally took off!” a second says.
“I was stuck for 6.5 hours it was insane! No compensation for hotel either,” another viewer comments.
@stantheodore @United Airlines hi can I get an update, please #help #unitedairlines #stuck #plane #newark
BroBible reached out to Stan Theodore via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to Newark Liberty International Airport and United Airlines via email for further comment.