December 21, 2009
Contact:
Kate Hanni
(707) 337-0328
kate@flyersrights.com
For Immediate Release
Airline Passengers Nationwide Get Early Holiday Gift: DOT to Force Airlines to Deplane Stranded Passengers
Department of Transportation to Impose Limit of Three Hours on the Tarmac for all Domestic Flights
Napa, CA (December 21, 2009) – Flyersrights.org, the nation’s foremost airline passenger advocacy group, is thrilled by today’s decision by the Department of Transportation that all airlines operating in the United States will now be forced to deplane passengers if a tarmac delay extends beyond three hours.
Kate Hanni, Flyersrights.org’s president and founder, issued this statement:
“This is indeed a wonderful holiday gift and a major victory for any airline passenger who has ever been subjected to an unnecessary tarmac delay and has endured endless hours without food, water or adequate toilet facilities. Flyersrights.org has fought for legislation in Congress to limit these delays, yet the bill has languished in the Senate despite bipartisan support. We applaud the Obama Administration and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for stepping up to the plate and telling the airline industry, and Congress, that ‘enough is enough’.”
Flyersrights.org was formed in 2007 by several passengers who were stranded for nine hours on the tarmac in Austin, Texas. The organization advocates for passengers’ rights, including passage of the Passenger’s Bill of Rights currently being debated in Congress. The organization currently has 27,000 members nationwide. For more information, visit www.flyersrights.org or call the hotline at 1-877-FLYERS6.
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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7 comments:
We all owe Kate a BIG thank you!
-Todd
Three hours, are you kidding me? 3 hours is still too long to sit on the tarmac in a non-moving plane. If the plane can't take off within 30 minutes of being boarded the plane shouldn’t have been boarded in the first place.
As a frequent flyer, I am thrilled by the attention, but as a consumer I am worried by the misunderstandings. Ground holds are first ordered by the FAA, not the airlines (who are losing money every minute the plane is on the ground). I would rather wait on the ground than in a holding pattern running out of fuel. I have been on two flights that have had to land elsewhere to refuel to circle longer.
Airlines should do what they can to make us more comfortable, but more importantly, get us there safely.
I appreciate the work of FlyersRights.org and would like to see some continued education on all aspects of the issue.
Heath
Potomac, Maryland
I agree with you 100% 3 hours is indeed too long! 30 minutes max on the tarmac or do not board the plane, too easy.
If you deplane after 3 hours, what happens to your ticket? Does the airline have to put you on the next flight? Can you get your money back?
So you choose not to post insightful comments that oppose your view?
as a crew member, returning to the gate will probably mean we will 'time out'. You will get off the plane and the flight cancelled....there's always a catch 22
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