Call On IG To Look Into Wx-Related Ground Holds
Responding to increased pressure on
lawmakers stemming from two recent incidents involving passengers
trapped on airliners for several hours due to weather-related
ground holds, on Tuesday US Secretary of Transportation Mary E.
Peters asked that the Department's independent Inspector General
review those cases.
The Secretary (right) said in her request that she was concerned
about a December incident involving American Airlines, during which
passengers were forced to remain aboard the aircraft held in
Austin, TX for more than six hours. She also noted that scores of
passengers were stranded aboard a JetBlue aircraft during a
Valentine's Day snow and ice storm at New York's JFK International
Airport.
"I have serious concerns about airlines' contingency planning
that allows passengers to sit on the tarmac for hours on end," said
Secretary Peters. "It is imperative that airlines do everything
possible to ensure that situations like these do not occur
again."
The Secretary asked Department of Transportation Inspector
General Calvin Scovel to examine the airlines' customer service
commitments, contracts of carriage and policies dealing with
extended ground delays aboard aircraft and to provide his
assessment on why the American and JetBlue situations occurred.
Secretary Peters also requested specific recommendations from
the Inspector General for what airlines, airports and the
government, including the Department of Transportation, can do to
prevent future similar events. She also asked the Inspector General
to identify and share existing successful practices being used in
commercial aviation that could be shared throughout the system to
improve customer service in such situations.
"Passengers have a right to know what to expect when it comes to
ground delays," said Peters.
After the American Airlines incident, passengers called on
Congress to consider passage of a "Passengers' Bill of Rights,"
calling for tightened standards and limitations on how long
airlines could hold passengers on an airliner before returning to a
gate. As Aero-News reported,
American announced soon thereafter it would revise its guidelines,
with a maximum limit of four hours.
Earlier this month, a similar incident involving JetBlue planes at JFK added
impetus to such legislation. In response, the Air Transport
Association (ATA) called on its member carriers to develop their
own standards, in an attempt to stave off Congressional
action.