At 9pm on her third day at the airport, Skye said she boarded a flight with approximately six other people but after “an hour of sitting on the tarmac” Skye said the flight crew came over and “whispered” to passengers that they should find flights with another airline.
The reason for delays was allegedly maintenance but the Gen-Z traveller was offered no further information.
Skye claimed it then cost her US$4000 ($6700) to get a Delta Airlines flight home the next day for her and her mother.
“Does anyone know what I’m supposed to do?” Skye asked viewers, saying her situation was “unheard of”.
United Airlines reportedly apologised to Skye and refunded her for the unused flight and offered additional travel certificates, the New York Post reported.
The pair were due to fly home on Sunday afternoon but ended up arriving on Thursday afternoon.
Hundreds of thousands of travellers have experienced disruption in recent days following the global IT outage, which stranded one Kiwi family in the US with no way to get home.
Skye’s flight issues happened before the outage and viewers were quick to claim the airline was in the wrong.
“This is super illegal,” one person commented, stating United is required to provide “equivalent flights, even if it means with another airline”.
Another shared she should have been compensated by the airline and another said they hoped she was suing them.
Despite being a premium member of United Airlines, Skye told news outlet People the issues made her hesitant to fly again with the airline.
America’s Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued a rule stating exactly when an airline must refund passengers and how they must do it.
The rule comes into effect in October and is expected to make it easier for passengers to receive refunds if flight or luggage disruptions occur. It will also apply to flights between New Zealand and the US.
