Passengers on a flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago claim that they were delayed for 33 hours while United Airlines loaded them on and off two broken planes. One passenger compared the ordeal to being “held hostage,” says FOX Chicago.

Passengers say that after their first plane was determined unfit to fly, they were loaded on a second plane which also suffered a mechanical difficulty.

FOX Chicago reports that the group of passengers got on and off the airplanes “half a dozen” times over nearly 2 days before finally arriving in Chicago. One passenger says she heard the pilot refusing to fly the plane because he thought it was unsafe.

“We were sitting in the first seat, so we could hear the captain saying: ‘I’m not flying this plane. I don’t care what you guys say.’ They wanted him to fly it. He kept saying. ‘I’m not flying it.'”

Eventually American Airlines’ mechanics fixed United’s planes and the flight arrived in Chicago 33 hours and 45 minutes after it was scheduled. The passengers were given vouchers, but they say they would have preferred better treatment.

Travelers Say United Airlines Turned Tropical Vacation Into Nightmare [MyFoxChicago]

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