[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

Send an e-mail to the RichmondAirport management.
http://www.flyrichmond.com/About_Us/Contact_Us.php
Ask for confirmation as to whether there was, at any time yesterday, a weather condition affecting flight departures. Then, when you get home, file a complaint with the EU airline regulatory authority. If the delay was NOT due to weather, you should be entitled to monetary compensation under EU regulations. I would also file a complaint with the (UK) CAA. Also, if RichmondAirport management confirms there was NO weather condition, send an e-mail to Delta asking the same question. Do not mention, in your e-mail to Delta, that you have contacted RichmondAirport management. This way, you can catch Delta in a lie. Enclose the RichmondAirport response, and the Delta response, with your complaints. While you are in the AtlantaAirport be careful of what you say to Delta staff. Some fellow, by the name of Miller, according to a previous post, accused a customer requesting compensation of trying to “extort” money from Delta; he called the police, and had the customer escorted into the main terminal with instructions that he was banned from flying on Delta. For future reference, if travel on Delta is unavoidable (Sky Miles program interest, or other) purchase ONLY a refundable fare. This way you are not held “hostage.” If Sky Miles/frequent flyer miles are not worth sleeping in the airport, I would suggest you explore traveling with Lufthansa. For travel to/from Europe, I've found Lufthansa to be one of the few decent airlines. True, to reach London (or other UK cities) you must transfer in either Frankfurt, or Dusseldorf, however you avoid a lot of aggravation. Lufthansa has an agreement with another bad US airline--United--to fly passengers to smaller US cities. If you book your entire trip with Lufthansa, rather than United, you have a limited degree of protection against anything United might try to do to you.