DALLAS — Yuvraj Verma was supposed to be somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on his way to Alaska.
But he spoke with WFAA from his home in Birmingham, Alabama – short on patience and money.
“It’s one thing to be upset about not having my vacation, but I spent almost $3,500 for this vacation,” Verma said. “I’m a teacher. We don’t make a lot of money.”
In January, Verma booked an 11-day Alaskan cruise out of San Francisco with Carnival Cruise Line.
He booked American Airlines flights on his own.
He was scheduled to leave Birmingham on June 24 – the morning of the cruise – connect through DFW Airport in Dallas, and arrive in San Francisco with about 5 hours to spare before final call to board his ship.
On the morning of June 24, his flight out of Alabama was delayed by 45 minutes.
He missed his connection in Dallas.
American rebooked him on a later flight from DFW to San Francisco, but that also kept getting delayed.
Verma ended up missing the ship.
Now he’s missing thousands of dollars.
He did not purchase trip insurance because he “did not think this would happen.”
When he asked for reimbursement, American gave him a $50 voucher. Carnival Cruises extended an apology and said it could not honor his request for compensation.
As summer vacations hit their peak, travelers are up against bigger crowds than ever.
The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, says it's experienced 7 of its 10 busiest days ever in June.
Sunday, June 23 set a record, with 2.99 million passengers screened.
However, the agency predicts that record will be short-lived. Friday, it expects to screen more than 3 million people.
Traffic getting to airports can also cause unexpected headaches. AAA says 5.6 million Texans will drive to a destination around July 4. That's 5.2% higher than last year.
“Be prepared,” said Hilda Lopez, public information officer at Dallas Love Field. “Get here early 90 minutes or we always say 2 hours during busy times.”
Lopez said Love Field is expecting a 23% increase in traffic between July 2 and July 7, with July 5, 6, and 7 expected to be the airport’s busiest days.
Verma is still hoping American or Carnival will reconsider compensating him.
“It’s not about the vacation right now. It’s about the financial burden of almost $4,000 I’ve had to lose,” he said.