[Minnie]

My sister and her 9 year are presently stranded at Newark. The automated checkin was broken and the airport was grossly understaffed to handle the many many irate passengers. After two and a half hours, my sister was unable to check in and she, along with many other passengers, were not allowed to board. As far as the airline is concerned, it is the passenger's fault that they did not check in on time, despite the fact that passengers 50 or more passengers are now stranded. The alternatives the airline are offering are unacceptable. What can they do?