After the second incident within two weeks where passengers were stranded on a runway with little food and even less information, politicians and advocacy groups have renewed calls to pass legislation prohibiting such long delays, a move that the airline industry continues to oppose.
The latest incident involved Sun Country Airlines, which was due to depart New York’s JFK airport for Minneapolis at 11 a.m. on Friday. First the plane was an hour late boarding, then it sat on the tarmac for six hours while the 100 passengers waited and waited. Around 6 p.m. the plane finally lifted off, and landed in Minneapolis two and a half hours later.
A statement issued by the airline explained that a construction project at Minneapolis airport contributed to the delay, which was exacerbated by storms over New York. Sun Country offered full refunds to passengers and said that it had done “everything in its power” to keep people comfortable and informed while they waited.
However, the story from those onboard was somewhat different. After the flight many passengers who were interviewed said that information was scant and unclear, and that they were anything but comfortable.
Passengers were initially told that a weather system over Iowa was causing the delay, and were repeatedly reassured that the plane would return to the gate if they weren’t cleared to take off in 20 minutes. That promise was made several times but never happened. Furthermore, passengers were only offered the option to purchase food and water after they’d already been onboard for three hours, and then supplies quickly ran out as hungry fliers scooped up what little was available.
The incident occurred only two weeks after an Express Jet flight went through a similar ordeal in Minneapolis. The fiasco prompted a vicious round of finger-pointing that involved not only Continental Express, ExpressJet and Mesaba Airlines (which was handling the ground operations), but also garnered strong condemnation from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who launched an investigation.
The fact that these two incidents happened in such quick succession has bolstered the case for a passenger bill of rights which would set time limits for how long planes can hold passengers on the tarmac before being required to let them deplane.
Legislation to that effect is currently pending in Congress but is opposed by the airline industry, which claims that it should be allowed to set voluntary limits on tarmac wait times, because to do otherwise would actually cause more delays and cancellations system-wide.
On Sunday Sun Country’s CEO tried to appease critics by offering to establish a maximum taxi time limit of four hours.
The industry also notes that these delays affect only a tiny fraction of the 6.4 million domestic flights that take off every year. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, only 415 flights were stuck on the tarmac for three or more hours during the first six months of 2009.
However Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) thinks that even 415 delays is too many, because miserable passengers stuck on board planes don’t care about statistics. He said that legislation would send a message to airlines that “you can’t treat people like cattle on a cattle car.”
Schumer doesn’t trust airlines to police themselves. He also doesn’t believe that airlines are always honest with passengers about delays, a theory that is reinforced by the remarks from some passengers on the Sun Country flight. Passengers on the ExpressJet flight also seemed to be unaware of the real story going on behind the scenes of their ordeal, which differed greatly from what they were told by their captain.
Schumer has a personal interest in the legislation because he once missed a speaking engagement in Florida after his flight was delayed on the tarmac at Newark airport for five hours.
The proposed federal legislation, which was authored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), is attached to the FAA reauthorization bill. It is currently sitting in the Senate Commerce Committee and will be voted on after the August recess.
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com
Related links: Associated Press, USA Today, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Newsday, Chicago Tribune
Related links from PeterGreenberg.com:
- Express Jet Tarmac Nightmare Prompts Renewed Calls for Passenger Bill of Rights
- FAA Reauthorization Bill Includes Passenger Rights, Air Traffic Control Modernization
- The Most Infamous Incident of Extreme Delay: The Jet Blues
- Feds Pass Hazy Guidelines for Air Travelers’ Rights
- Citizen Journalism and Flight Delays
