Airlines will do what they can when a flight is delayed or cancelled to seek a cause of force majeure. They will try to relate to weather, etc. as much as they can. It reads better and they can save substantially in reaccommodation, compensation such as lodging and meals. There’s not much recourse, either - any more than from the contract by adhesion Conditions of Carriage, Warsaw or Montreal convention provisions, or FAA requirements the airline submits to the FAA for approval.

If we don’t understand that, we don’t have a basic understanding of how the system is biased against passengers. If we don’t fly defensively and we fail to understand the need for effective self-advocacy, we’re pretty much at their mercy. And Mercy left town years ago.