United Airlines flight 884 canceled after nearly 12-hour delay: What happened on the Dulles-Rome flight

Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C. to Rome spent about 12 hours dealing with delays before the airline canceled the flight. The United Flight 884 was scheduled to depart Washington Dulles International Airport at 5:35 pm on October 2 for Rome Fiumicino Airport and passengers began boarding around 4:30 pm.

United Flight 884 Faced Multiple Delays

The flight initially encountered a technical issue involving the cockpit. Thunderstorms then caused another delay while the aircraft was waiting to depart.

About three hours later, the Boeing 777-200ER returned to the gate to take on additional fuel because of the weather-related delay.


Passengers were given the opportunity to leave the aircraft during the wait. The catering also had to be replaced because the food had been sitting for too long.

Crew Time Limit Adds to Flight Delay

About six hours into the ordeal, the original crew reached its duty-time limit.

Passengers had to leave the aircraft while United arranged for a replacement crew. After the new crew arrived, passengers boarded again, but the aircraft still could not depart.

A maintenance issue then required additional technical attention, creating another delay.

Aircraft Returns to Gate After Pushback

The aircraft eventually began pushing back from the gate.

Passengers then heard a loud bang. The pilot told them that a band on the pushback tug had broken and something had struck the aircraft.

The plane returned to the gate for another inspection.

United said the flight was canceled because of crew time limits. The airline also said affected customers were rebooked on an additional flight that departed Saturday evening, as per a Fox News report.

Flight Canceled Around 4 a.m.

United Flight 884 was canceled at around 4 a.m. the following morning after passengers had spent nearly 12 hours dealing with the delays.

The affected passengers were rebooked on another flight that departed Dulles shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday, more than 25 hours after Flight 884 had originally been scheduled to depart.

Passenger Receives $175 Voucher

Rebecca Bliden, one of the passengers, told WJLA that United gave her a $175 voucher as a goodwill gesture. She was seeking a full refund.

Travel expert Katy Nastro of Flighty discussed what passengers can do during a lengthy delay. Nastro said passengers can choose not to continue with the flight, get a refund and rebook on their own.

Why United Flight 884 Was Canceled

The flight experienced a series of problems, including a cockpit technical issue, thunderstorms, additional fuel requirements, a crew reaching its duty-time limit, a replacement crew, a maintenance issue and another inspection after the pushback incident.

United ultimately canceled Flight 884 because of crew time limits and rebooked the affected passengers on an additional Saturday evening flight.