New York model Vienna Skye stuck in Rio de Janeiro airport for four days following continued United Airlines delays

The woman claimed she and her mother waited at the airport for four days before booking another flight. Photo / 123rf

A New York-based model claims she spent almost a week stranded at an airport in Brazil after her flights home from holiday were repeatedly delayed.

Vienna Skye, 25, documented spending four days in Rio de Janeiro Airport in a video viewed more than 4.2 million times on Instagram and TikTok.

“Day in the life living at the airport,” Skye captions the video, which shows clips of the model wandering around the airport.

“This morning I woke up, oh no, wait, I didn’t. I didn’t sleep because United Airlines continuously cancelled my flight for four days in a row,” she said, claiming she was stuck at the airport with nowhere to sleep.

@viennaskye

please explain THIS @United Airlines #unitedairlines

♬ original sound - viennaskye

At 9pm on her third day at the airport, Skye said she boarded a flight with approximately six other people but after “an hour of sitting on the tarmac” Skye said the flight crew came over and “whispered” to passengers that they should find flights with another airline.

The reason for delays was allegedly maintenance but the Gen-Z traveller was offered no further information.

Skye claimed it then cost her US$4000 ($6700) to get a Delta Airlines flight home the next day for her and her mother.

“Does anyone know what I’m supposed to do?” Skye asked viewers, saying her situation was “unheard of”.

United Airlines reportedly apologised to Skye and refunded her for the unused flight and offered additional travel certificates, the New York Post reported.

The pair were due to fly home on Sunday afternoon but ended up arriving on Thursday afternoon.

Hundreds of thousands of travellers have experienced disruption in recent days following the global IT outage, which stranded one Kiwi family in the US with no way to get home.

Skye’s flight issues happened before the outage and viewers were quick to claim the airline was in the wrong.

“This is super illegal,” one person commented, stating United is required to provide “equivalent flights, even if it means with another airline”.

Another shared she should have been compensated by the airline and another said they hoped she was suing them.

Despite being a premium member of United Airlines, Skye told news outlet People the issues made her hesitant to fly again with the airline.

America’s Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued a rule stating exactly when an airline must refund passengers and how they must do it.

The rule comes into effect in October and is expected to make it easier for passengers to receive refunds if flight or luggage disruptions occur. It will also apply to flights between New Zealand and the US.