3 Airlines Fined in Minn. Tarmac Stranding

(AP)  The government is imposing fines for the first time against airlines for stranding passengers on an airport tarmac, the Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

The department said it has levied a precedent-setting $175,000 in fines against three airlines for their role in the in a plane at Rochester, Minn., on Aug. 8.

Continental Express Flight 2816 was en route from Houston to Minneapolis carrying 47 passengers when thunderstorms forced it to divert to Rochester, where it landed about 12:30 a.m. The airport was closed and Mesaba Airlines employees - the only airline employees at the airport at the time - refused to open the terminal for the stranded passengers.

Continental Airlines and its regional airline partner ExpressJet, which operated the flight for Continental, were each fined $50,000. ExpressJet spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas said the airline can avoid paying half the fines if it spends the same amount of money on additional training for their employees on how to handle extended tarmac delays.

The department imposed the largest penalty - $75,000 - on Mesaba Airlines, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines, which was acquired by Delta Air Lines last year.

"I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "We will also use what we have learned from this investigation to strengthen protections for airline passengers subjected to long tarmac delays."

The passengers of Flight 2816 were kept waiting nearly six hours inside the cramped regional airliner amid wailing babies and a smelly toilet even though they were only 50 yards from a terminal. The captain of the flight repeatedly pleaded to allow the passengers to deplane and enter the terminal.

In the morning they were allowed to disembark. They spent about two and a half hours inside the terminal before reboarding the same plane to complete their trip to Minneapolis.

Passenger Link Christin praised the department for punishing the airlines for their behavior.

"A conclusion that there was some wrongdoing or negligence is more important to me than the amount of the fine," said Christin, a lecturer at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn.

John Spanjers, president of Mesaba, said the airline "continues to feel it operated in good faith."

"However, customer service is paramount, and we are re-evaluating our policies and procedures for the courtesy handling of other airlines' flights to do our part to mitigate this type of delay," Spanjers said.

Continental pointedly noted in a statement that its fines were less than those imposed on rival Delta's subsidiary.

Besides the fine, Continental also provided a full refund to each passenger and "offered each passenger additional compensation to tangibly acknowledge their time and discomfort," the department said.

The department's actions comes as Congress weighs legislation that place a three-hour cap on how long airlines can keep passengers waiting on tarmacs before they have to offer them the opportunity to deplane or return to a gate. The measure would give a flight's captain the authority to extend the wait an additional half hour if it appears that clearance to takeoff is near.

The measure is opposed by the Air Transport Association, which represents major airlines. Industry officials say a three-hour limit could create more problems than it alleviates by increasing the number of flights that are canceled and leaving passengers stuck at airports trying to make new travel arrangements.

[retm-w]

It wasn't the airline or the employee's fault, the airport wouldn't let the passengers in the terminal, due to no TSA (Government employees) being on duty. If the passengers got off the aircraft they would have to go through security before the could get back on the aircraft and there were no TSA screeners on duty. If I were the airlines I would fight this.

[tim2221]

You bet, If you don't hurt them in the pocket book they will do whatever they want. Ya know Airlines fly at lower allitudes to save fuel and if it bounces your teeth out of your head they don't care. Heck with only prezzals on the plane you could starve. I like the point about unlawfull inprisonment. Screw them we are just cattle.

[Nightlife811]

what a load of bs. i think that the management of the terminal should be fired and the airlines fined triple. people pay big bucks to fly and then get treated like animals. no one should have to sit aboard an aircraft for 3 hours waiting to take off. to me that is false imprisonment. either get us in the air or take us back to the gate until we can take off. people are tired of being treated as if we have no right and the airlines have all the rights to hold passengers prisoner. i understand there is a safety concern, but there should be more of a concern for peoples rights and comfort. and as far as reducing fines because they spend money on training of employees is bs. i'm tired of big business running amock and screwing the people that pay them in the first place. come on, lets stand up to these people and tell them we are tired of the mistreatment and we want and deserve a passengers bill of rights.

[nickjack43]

Hear, hear!!