ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Air travel can be challenging, especially when unexpected delays occur. On Monday, passengers on Delta Flight 1497, which included myself, at Orlando International Airport faced hours of waiting as mechanics tried unsuccessfully to fix a problem that delayed our departure.

Earlier that day, Delta Flight 1213 caught fire on the tarmac at the same airport around 11:15 a.m. Just hours later, Delta flight 1030 leaving Orlando had to return because what Delta calls a pressurization issue.

While waiting hours for a plane, I recorded a Facebook live, where you could see everyone who was stranded remained quite calm, but were just hot and hungry.

Attorney Leslie Silva, principal at McCall Sweeney and Silva, explained what passengers should do in such situations.

“The Department of Transportation has put this all on their website as to what your rights might be if you’re on the tarmac for more than three hours, if they lose your luggage, if you are involuntarily bumped from your flight,” said Silva.

The Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard outlines each airline’s policy. Delta, for instance, provides meal vouchers when a flight delay results in a passenger waiting three hours or more.

“The airline is not always going to offer you what you are entitled to. They’re going to try to lowball you for lack of a better phrase,” Silva said.

According to the Department of Transportation’s website, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for delayed or canceled flights on domestic itineraries. However, they must provide a full refund if a flight is canceled and the passenger chooses another way to travel.

I asked Delta how those on flights 1213, 1030, and 1497 were compensated. Delta spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau returned my email after I’d left to go on set. She wrote, “We appreciate our customers’ cooperation and apologize for the experience. Nothing is more important than safety and Delta teams will work to get our customers to their final destinations as soon as possible.” She said passengers on the plane that caught fire, flight 1213, got their money back. Passengers on the plane that had a pressurization issue, flight 1030, were given vouchers and SkyMiles.

My flight, originally scheduled to depart at 7:30 p.m., finally left at 12:10 a.m. the next day. I missed my connecting flight and didn’t board another plane until after 3 p.m.

I was fortunate to receive meal vouchers and a hotel offer from a kind gate agent. But it’s important that consumers empower themselves by knowing their rights when flying. To view the Department of Transportation’s Flyer’s Rights webpage, click here. To see the Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard, click here.

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