Nightmare at Logan: Stranded travelers wait over 15 hours to board their plane

BOSTON — It was a nightmare flight out of Boston, with travelers left hanging for over 15 hours waiting to get to San Francisco.

Jet Blue's flight 833 was supposed to leave at 6 p.m. Sunday.

After multiple delays and boarding and reboarding, it finally took off.

For some passengers, they had 24 hours of travel time tied up.

Tweets lay out the frustration, with one passenger saying: "On Flight 833 from Boston, feeling like a hostage-like situation, 14 hours of delays... misinformation, and no clear options for escape."

Another passenger tweeted: "When it comes to heavy delays, AAA NorthEast suggests buying travel insurance and getting some help when booking those trips."

What options do you have as a passenger when delays drag on into a downright demoralizing experience at the airport?

Travel agent Wendy Marley has some suggestions.

"Booking travel insurance is highly recommended whether you are just doing something local going overseas," Marley said.

And if the trip starts to go off the rails, enlist some help to get some answers.

"Rather than navigate that all yourself, so either a travel agent, or if you are not able to get anywhere through the airline, you can contact the department of transportation," said Marley.

We tried to get some answers from JetBlue. They told us "weather" led to the original flight crew reaching its "time limit" by FAA guidelines.

They also told passengers that they would get a $250 credit.

It's been tough traveling for many people over the last couple of days. Delays have piled up on the roads and in the air.

It's hard to find a longer day at the airport than passengers on a flight out of Boston headed to the west coast.

Another passenger tweeted: "I will avoid flying with JetBlue at all cost, 16 hours of sitting at airport boarding and deboarding not because of weather but because you can't coordinate your crew schedules. Unacceptable."

As far as answers, Jet Blue responded back to the troubled travelers on Monday, saying: "From air traffic control delays to crew timing out for their legal resting period, we know that flight 833 has had its challenges."

Cox Media Group