Government Creates 3-Hour Limit on Tarmac Waits

(MoneyWatch)  The Obama administration announced that airlines could not hold passengers on stranded planes for more than three hours or face $27,500 per passenger fines. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the new limit and regulations, which take effect in April, are meant to protect the consumer and passengers from being held captive on stranded planes.

The case that started the new law was Continental Express Flight 2816 which was diverted to Rochester, Minn. because of thunderstorms. Forty-seven passengers were kept overnight in the plane because Mesaba Airlines staff refused to open the gate so they could enter the terminal. The Department of Transportation fined Continental Airlines, Expressjet Airlines and Mesaba Airlines $175,000 for the six-hour delay.

So far, response from the airline industry has been dismay.

"The requirement of having planes return to the gates within a three-hour window or face significant fines is inconsistent with our goal of completing as many flights as possible. Length tarmac delays benefit no one," Air Transport Association chief executive James May told the Associated Press.

Through Oct. 31 of this year, 864 flights had waits of three hours or more. Approximately 1,500 flights would be affected, using 2007 and 2008 data. Only domestic carriers will be affected by the new rules.

However, the new regulations include a loophole for safety or security concerns or if air traffic control advises pilots would be unwise to return to the gate.

Obama has been trying to come out as the consumer watchdog president by using the Federal Communications Commission and now the Department of Transportation to advocate for consumers and enforce penalties when they violate consumer protection regulations.

While the airline industry may not favor a three-hour time limit, its passengers will. Isn't there something wrong with an airline that would rather strand its passengers with stinky toilets, crying babies and airless cabins than let them roam around a terminal and spend money? By not letting them off the plane for up to 11 hours, airlines basically saved 20 minutes -- the time it would take to reload passengers. And because there was no financial penalty, airlines saw no reason to change.

Now with a penalty looming, airlines will have to provide better customer service. Isn't it about time?