United Airlines cancels Rome flight after passengers sat nearly 12 hours onboard
Passengers on United Airlines Flight 884 from Washington to Rome on Oct. 2 spent almost 12 hours onboard waiting to depart before the flight was canceled before takeoff. Technical faults, a thunderstorm and crew duty-time limits were blamed for the chain of delays.
A night of cascading problems
United Airlines Flight 884 was scheduled to leave Washington Dulles International Airport for Rome's Fiumicino Airport at 5:35 p.m. on Oct. 2. Instead, it was ultimately canceled around 4 a.m. the next morning — nearly 12 hours after its scheduled departure.
According to WJLA and Jalopnik, the trouble began with a technical issue in the cockpit that caused an initial delay. After the plane began taxiing, thunderstorms prevented takeoff. The Boeing 777 sat on the tarmac for about three hours to conserve fuel before returning to the gate to refuel. By then, the onboard meals had sat out too long and had to be replaced by a catering truck.
Six hours into the delay, the original crew hit its legal duty-time limit, forcing all passengers off the plane. A new crew then boarded, but reported a problem with the door seal that required a maintenance inspection. As the aircraft finally began pushing back from the gate, a band on the tug vehicle snapped and struck the plane, according to Fox News and Jalopnik, prompting a damage check. The replacement crew then also timed out, and the flight was canceled.
Passenger Rebecca Bliden, who was traveling with her 78-year-old mother to Italy for her sister's 50th birthday, told WJLA the cabin grew hot and children were crying. "I've never heard of sitting on a plane for almost 12 hours," she said.
United's response and compensation
In a statement, United Airlines said the aircraft returned to the gate to take on additional fuel due to weather, a new crew was brought in and a maintenance issue was resolved, but the plane required another mechanical inspection after pushing back. The flight was then canceled due to crew time limits, and customers were rebooked on an extra flight. Fox News reported that flight departed just before 7 p.m. Saturday — putting passengers en route more than 25 hours later than planned.
For the inconvenience, Bliden said United gave her a $175 voucher. Travel expert Katy Nastro of Flighty told WJLA that United did the right thing by letting passengers deplane after three hours and offering vouchers, but acknowledged the situation remained difficult. She noted it's often unclear whether such delays fall within an airline's control, and recommended travelers check flightrights.gov to understand their options.
Wider context
As Jalopnik notes, the U.S. Department of Transportation introduced a rule in 2024 requiring mandatory cash refunds for delays exceeding six hours on international flights, but the rule was rescinded in 2025 after the Trump administration took office. The airline industry group Airlines for America argued the earlier rules "don't solve issues important to our customers." Reactions on social media were mixed, with some users sympathizing with safety-related protocols and others criticizing the airline's handling of the situation.
