Flight Delays
There are many reasons that a flight may be delayed including weather, airport conditions, an airline malfunction, computer breakdown or even security concerns. For the most part, airlines do not take kindly to delayed flights and will do their absolute best to avoid them.

Airport flight delays can occur in there is construction in progress and a runway is closed for repairs. The number of aircraft going out of and into that airport is most likely the same as before the runway was closed, and the same number of flights are trying to use fewer runways. This can cause a back up on take offs and landings, leading to some flight delays.

Weather has caused numerous flight delays and cancellations at O’Hare Airport in Chicago as the unpredictable weather wreaks havoc on an airline schedule. Add to that, many storms that move into Chicago are coming from an area where a lot of flights are going. The flight may be delayed due to weather conditions at the destination, and then others delayed due to conditions in Chicago. It is also one of the country’s busiest airports and a slight delay will snowball into many delays.

Flight delays in Florida, although rare, are also usually due to weather and flight delay information is not usually made available until after passengers have boarded the plane. There are a few companies that offer flight delay insurance, which will pay a percentage of the ticket cost based on the length of time the flight is delayed, but the flight delay compensation is usually limited to incidental expenses on many of the policies. There are also typically stipulations that govern the type of delays that qualify in order to receive the compensation.

Many times, airlines will compensate passengers if delays or cancellations leave them stranded in a strange city overnight and will include a hotel and meals, but are usually limited to cancellations caused by the airline itself, such as mechanical problems. Weather conditions is not considered by the airlines to be their responsibility and it is a rare exception that an airline will make any compensation for weather related delays or cancellations.