Most regular airline fliers have probably experienced something like I this: Forty minutes before your flight is due to depart, an airplane pulls into the gate and passengers stream out through the waiting area. A few minutes after the last passenger walks off the jet way and you're lining up to board, the gate agent announces that the flight will be delayed. She says the allowed time on duty for the crew that just landed the airplane has expired, and the crew scheduled for your flight is trapped in Providence, Rhode Island, because a snowstorm has closed the airport. In other words, bad weather far from your airport has delayed your flight until a new crew, which the airline has called in, arrives after driving from their homes or catching rides on other flights.
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