Mon, Aug 10, 2009
Weather, Crew Rest Rules, And Airline Regulations All Played A
Role
When an ExpressJet flight from
Houston to Minneapolis-St. Paul, on a codeshare with Continental,
was diverted due to thunderstorms to Rochester, MN, the weather
quickly became the least of the 47 passenger's concerns.
Once on the ground at Rochester about 2300, it was determined
that the crew could not complete the flight and be legal for time
in the air. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that ExpressJet
looked into chartering a bus to take them to the Twin Cities, but
that did not work out, and they were not allowed to disembark into
the airport because TSA personnel had all gone home, and the
passengers could not be re-screened for security. Ground service
personnel at Rochester did not offer allowing the passengers to
enter the transient area of the terminal as an option, according to
ExpressJet spokesperson Kristy Nicholas.
So the 47 passengers sat on the 50 seat regional jet.
All night.
Passengers told the paper that it wasn't long before the
lavatory was overused and reeking, and small children were upset
and crying. There was no food offered, other than the small bag of
pretzels handed out in flight.
The doors of the plane finally opened at about 0600, and the
passengers were allowed to enter the terminal. They were given one
complementary beverage. At about 0930, they were put back on the
same, still-unserviced airplane and flown on to Minneapolis-St.
Paul, Arriving about 12 hours behind schedule.
Expressjet Spokesperson Nicholas said the airline apologizes for
the incident, but that passenger safety and legal requirements of
the airline were the priorities driving decisions.
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