United Airlines is currently facing some heat after a traveler claimed the company misled her regarding the reasons for a flight cancellation. Chloe van Berkel took to TikTok to share her experience, and the video has already racked up thousands of views.
As reported by BroBible, Van Berkel and her friends had booked a trip from Newark to Nashville a month in advance. The trouble started on the day of their flight when they were hit with a six-hour delay. Things went from bad to worse when the flight was eventually canceled entirely.
She explained that the group had already spent $1,500 on an Airbnb and a couple hundred more on a rental car. Since the trip was only scheduled for 48 hours, the sudden cancellation put the entire vacation in jeopardy.
She claims the airline gave her no options for rebooking
Van Berkel claims that United told her the flight was canceled due to weather and that the decision was about keeping the passengers safe. However, she noticed that other flights from Newark to Nashville were still operating as scheduled.
She pointed out that there was a 10:30 AM flight and a 1:30 PM flight that managed to take off without any issues, even though her 12:00 PM flight was grounded. She stated, “So, obviously it wasn’t due to safety. It was due to your poor planning and not getting us a plane.”
To make matters worse, she expected the airline to help them get on the next available flight. Instead, she claims she was given no options for rebooking. She noted that the company simply provided an immediate refund, which forced her group to look for expensive, last-minute tickets on their own.
She stated, “We need to sit on a flight this morning. And they said, ‘There’s nothing we can do to help you.’” She added that $2,000 is “down the drain because United absolutely screwed me and my friends on our flight this morning.” She concluded by saying, “That’s ridiculous. That’s actually criminal.”
The reaction in the comments section has been quite divided. Some users were skeptical of her account, with one frequent flyer arguing that rebooking is almost always an option, even if it is not the most convenient. That user wrote, “You’re telling me a whole plane full of people were canceled and not rebooked? Doubt that.” Van Berkel stuck to her story, however, responding in the comments that she checked the app and was only offered an immediate refund with no alternative flights provided.
Other commenters expressed sympathy and shared their own frustrations with the current state of the airline industry. Some suggested that travelers should look into travel insurance to protect themselves from these kinds of unexpected costs. One person mentioned that buying insurance was the best purchase they ever made for a trip to Italy. Another viewer suggested that the way airlines use weather as an excuse for cancellations needs to be regulated.
Published: Oct 8, 2026 10:30 am