Hundreds of American Airlines passengers experienced a harrowing ordeal Tuesday as nine flights were forced to remain on sweltering airport runways for up to three hours after landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina.

The extended delays were attributed to severe lightning that caused significant backups on Monday night, leading to disruptions the following day, according to an RDU statement. Airport officials noted that deplaning during harsh weather is subject to each airline's safety protocols.

Passengers reported being kept in the dark about the reasons for the prolonged tarmac waits. "They were being very vague, they didn't give any answers, they were just like 'there's not enough staff,'" said Purva Joshi, a traveler who arrived on a flight from LaGuardia Airport. "It was just excuses and I would've preferred some clarity."

Miami to RDU Flight Ordeal

One passenger traveling from Miami described a particularly frustrating journey. Their flight was delayed for over three hours in Miami before attempting to land at RDU. The plane was temporarily diverted to Charlotte for refueling and a crew change, only to circle back to RDU and face further delays on the tarmac.

"Finally landed at RDU. Now stuck on the tarmac (going on 30 minutes now) because we don't have a gate," the passenger wrote on X. "The incompetence is absolutely astounding. I mean factors above anything I have ever experienced."

Specific Flight Delays

Data from FlightAware indicated lengthy tarmac times for several American Airlines flights and its regional affiliates. A flight from Philadelphia (AAL 3125) waited three hours and three minutes. A flight from Dallas (AAL 542) was on the tarmac for almost three hours. American flight AAL 2167 from Chicago faced a delay of three hours and 13 minutes, while Republic Airways flight 4615, an American regional affiliate, was held for three hours.

An Envoy Air regional flight from Miami (3474) experienced a nearly three-hour wait on the runway. Another American flight from New York (AAL 2969) was stuck for two hours and 33 minutes.

Additionally, a Jazz Airlines plane arriving from Toronto, Canada, sat on the runway for nearly two hours. The weather conditions at the time were humid, with temperatures in the low to mid-70s Fahrenheit.

"Nine American Airlines planes held on the ground before parking at open gates due to the storm," RDU told the Daily Mail. "RDU worked closely with the airline to park the planes as quickly as the airline's safety protocols would allow."