Bill Would Let Airlines Decide How Long To Keep Passengers On Tarmac

Flyer's Right activist Kate Hanni is not a happy flyer. 'Legislation scheduled to come before the House of Representatives this week would let commercial airlines themselves decide how long to force passengers to remain in their aircraft on the tarmac,' according to Kate Hanni, Executive Director of FlyersRights.org.

"The Federal Aviation Administration bill is cleared for takeoff, but passengers have been left at the gate," charged Hanni, who is concerned that "the bill gives the airlines the legal authority to keep us stranded on the tarmac for as long as they want."

"Both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-sponsored legislation to impose a 3-hour limit on tarmac delays when they were in Congress, but House leaders didn't get the memo. Their bill does force airlines to at least have adequate food and water on board should a tarmac stranding occur, but that's small comfort when you're sitting in an economy-class seat for 7, 8, or even 9 hours -- and that's exactly what this legislation lets the airlines do."

Hanni, who founded FlyersRights.org after she herself was stranded on an American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Dallas in 2006, said "there is nothing so frustrating as to be held hostage inside a locked tube for over 9 hours on the ground in an economy seat."

"The least Congress should do is to mandate a 'bright line standard' requiring airlines to allow passengers off the aircraft and back into the relative comfort of the terminal after 3 hours."

Although the Congress has failed to require airlines to allow passengers off planes after being stranded for 3 hours or more, the Canadian Parliament is now considering measures that would force airlines there to allow passengers to disembark after just one hour. In response, four leading Canadian commercial airlines have voluntarily agreed to self-impose a 90-minute limit, Hanni said.

FlyersRights.org claims the distinction of being the largest non-profit airline passengers' rights association in the US with 25,000 members.

FMI: www.flyersrights.org