Flyers got little compensation after 14-hour delay in foreign country

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Passengers on a diverted American Airlines flight earlier this month found themselves stranded in a foreign country for over 14 hours with barely any compensation in return.
Flight AA2421 departed Puerto Rico’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport on Aug. 3 as scheduled and was nearing its final destination at Miami International Airport when “severe weather” forced the aircraft to divert to Nassau in the Bahamas, according to an American Airlines spokesperson.
After landing in Nassau, the weather and FAA-mandated crew rest caused even more delays for the flight – leaving passengers waiting nearly 14 hours at Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport.
“Operating safely is always our priority – especially in dynamic weather events – and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience experienced as a result of the weather,” the airline said in a statement.
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One of the passengers, Dimas Henriquez, had been on vacation in Puerto Rico and shared his experience being “stranded” at Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport in a viral TikTok. “We’re supposed to be literally home right now,” he said in the video. “I’ve been in this eating Lay’s chips and Biscoff cookies for about what, three hours?”
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The airline said it provided food and beverages for the passengers, but Henriquez told USA TODAY that wasn’t until about five or six hours into the delay.
Henriquez said passengers were left in the dark during the long delay. “We kept being told a plane is actively being deboarded to load a new crew to come to the Bahamas to move us,” he said. “It was the same story for the entire 14 hours.”
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At 10:24 a.m. the next morning, the flight finally took off for Miami, but Henriquez and his travel companions had already missed their connecting flight. Upon arriving in Miami, they were told the next flight to North Carolina would be two days later and he said the airline refused to offer any vouchers for hotels. Not wanting to pay out of pocket for two nights at a Miami hotel, Henriquez and his group rented a car and drove the 13 hours home.
Henriquez later requested a refund for the plane ticket with the airline online and was given $124.60 – less than the cost of the rental car and the full plane ticket. “I was refunded, I believe, only for the singular connection missed in MIA,” he said.
Henriquez said he’s filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation and is waiting to hear back.
“I wish someone from AA, at any point, told us it was gonna be OK, and we’ll be compensated and get home in a timely or at least comfortable fashion,” he said. “Everyone instead just sat in limbo for 14 hours in a different country.”
No federal laws currently require airlines to compensate travelers for delayed flights, but carriers have committed to various degrees of compensation for significant delays within their control. However, bad weather conditions are notably outside of airline control.
Travel insurance can help offset costs tied to covered cancellations and delays.
Some credit card companies also cover unexpected travel expenses related to flight disruptions if the flight was originally booked with their card.
Contributing: Eve Chen, USA TODAY