Travel News

Travel News- Did JetBlue And AA Violate The DOT’s Passenger Bill of Rights?

Taking a chapter out of the travelers’ handbook for most horrific experiences, hundreds of JetBlue and American Airlines passengers were left stranded on a tarmac for more than 7 hours at Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Connecticut.

At least three JetBlue planes and one American Airlines plane were diverted from New York-area airports on Saturday due to the nor’east storm.

What does this mean for passengers? Simple: Passenger Bill of Rights.

The Department of Transportation now states that any plane that spends more than three hours on a tarmac is required to go back to the gate and allow the passengers to de-plane; failure to do so will result in a $27,500 fine per passenger. Also, more than two hours on a ground delay requires airliners to have an ample supply of food and water and access to a working bathroom.

Through an email statement a JetBlue spokeswoman, Victoria Lucia, confirmed that six of its planes, carrying a total of about 700 passengers, were diverted to Hartford as a result of a “confluence of events,” including equipment failures at Newark and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport that prevented planes from landing in low visibility. Lucia also said that intermittent power outages at the airport made refueling and deplaning difficult.

And despite the Passenger Bill of Rights, the airliners might not face penalties, due to concerns over safety and security of the passengers.

For more information, check out:

Our Natural Disaster Section

Senate Approves FAA Reauthorization Bill, Includes Passenger Rights & Air Traffic Upgrades

Dept. of Transportation, Not Congress, Announces Airline Passenger Bill of Rights

By Tatiana Rodriguez for PeterGreenberg.com