It has never been done before, but this morning the Federal Aviation Administration fined Continental Airlines, ExpressJet and Mesaba Airlines for the part each carrier played in the August 8 stranding of 47 passengers in Rochester, Minnesota. It was an ExpressJet regional airliner that was being operated as Continental Express that diverted to Rochester because of thunderstorms in the Twin Cities, just 75 miles to the northwest.
Continental and ExpressJet were fined a total civil penalty of $100,000 and Mesaba got hit with the largest individual fine of the three at $75,000. Mesaba provided ground handling for the flight since Continental does not fly to Rochester regularly. The Northwest AirLInk, now Delta Connection carrier refused to allow the passengers to deplane citing the fact that the airport's TSA staff was gone for the day. It turned out that this was true, it was allowable for the passengers, which included crying babies, to be accommodated in the terminal overnight just as long as they were in a secure area.
Continental issued full refunds for the flight to all passengers and offered additional compensation based on the time they sat in the aircraft on the airport tarmac, and discomfort. Not only is this the first time that airlines have been fined for a tarmac delay, it is the first time that a ground handler has been fined.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "I hope this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers," The ExpressJet flight arrived in Rochester at 12:30 in the morning and the passengers were not allowed to deplane from the aircraft that was filthy and smelled of overused toilets until 6:15 a.m. The aircraft was boarded again at about 9:30 a.m. and the flight finally arrived at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport about 11 a.m.
Numerous versions of passengers' rights legislation, that is opposed by the airlines, is currently being considered in Congress, most of which would place a three-hour maximum on how long an aircraft with passengers can sit on the tarmac before returning to the gate.
Comments
I could only imagine the boredom, frustration, and discomfort felt by these passengers. Good to hear something was done about it.
And rightly so.
i'm surprised but glad they did it.
I'm glad to hear about the fines, but keeping passengers prisoners in a filthy plane is criminal, amounting to kidnapping. It would have been better to send everyone involved to prison for a week or more. I really am sorry that there weren't any members of congress on that flight. The passengers should also have demanded more compensation for hotels, meals, medical expenses, pain and suffering. This was outrageous. Thanks for reporting about it.
Yeah! I'm glad they were fined. That's the least that can be done in this situation. The proposed passengers' rights legislation, in my opinion, does not go far enough to protect the riding public. Three hours on the tarmac is okay? That's still outrageous. More needs to be done. Thanks for writing about this and I'm glad to see this wasn't just a slap on the wrist.
I still do not understand how airlines can keep passengers captive on a plane. If they did that in a store or hotel room there'd be court cases, large damages, and criminal charges. Isn't this kidnapping?
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