Airline Passenger’s Bill of Rights – You Gotta Let Me Off This Plane!

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Sept. 17, 2009

After passengers in Rochester, N.Y. were forced to stay on the tarmac overnight, two business travel groups say enough is enough! Once confident airlines could find a solution to their problems, they’ve now decided to support a new bill that would impose a fine on airlines that keep passengers stranded on an aircraft for more than three hours. The Air Transport Association says each delay is unique, and passing uniform legislation could compound the problem for passengers. The airlines claim they can solve the problem, but passenger advocacy groups are literally saying….we’ve been waiting too long.

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Norma
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Patt--from what I read about the Minnesota incident, it was pure incompetence on the part of several employees. Anyone with a brain could have solved that situation and should have. My sister works for Southwest, and I can't imagine her going home and leaving people on a plane like that!

As a mom of two children (not babies, mind you), it's my worst nightmare to imagine being stuck on a plane like that. ACK!

Deanna
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Even 3 hours is huge, especially with children. Babies need to nap and eat on schedule, and even a one hour delay throws everything off. I go to great lengths to fly during a time when my kids will cause little disruption, but a long delay then throws things off and the other passengers are cranky with me when I did my part!

dg
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Some of my several(!) such experiences included the airlines being limited by Fed. regulations as far as opening doors and returning to gates. i.e. on one long delay, the pilot announced that IF we were to return to the gate and open the door (i.e. for fresh air!), it would start the FAA flight paperwork job all over again. He actually "blamed" Homeland Security. So maybe their policies need to be examined as they relate to passenger "rights" too.

Ann LaPatka
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Some delays are unavoidable, but you can reduce the possibility of delay by avoiding the use of airports that have high delay numbers ie O'hare and Denver.

Shet
5 months, 3 weeks ago

I consider being held on an enclosed airplane over one hour as a kidnapping or hostage situation. When i pay for transportation I expect to get there on time or to have a choice to leave the airplane.

If I were held against my will, in an unhealthy, unreasonable,
enclosed situation, I have already decided to fake a serious illness or hysteria in order to force them to open the doors to stairways to let me off. (But hopefully not scream because I'd be afraid of scaring any children aboard.)
Now I've heard an alternative on Pat's show, to get the passengers to revolt, threaten to sue, take over the plane -- This seems like a good plan -- better than scaring children and making them feel worse

Three hours is much much too long.

Why can't the stairs be rolled up to the plane and passengers be allowed to walk to the building and wait there -- or choose another flight? That question wasn't answered.

It seems that airlines' loss of revenue is their only consideration, not the fights to health, safety, comfort of passengers or their loss of sanity and time.

Holding people on an enclosed plane longer than one hour for very good reason is much much too long!

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