In a move that sets a precedent for airlines around the world, the US government has slapped three carriers with fines for leaving passengers stranded on tarmac.
The Department of Transportation fined Continental Airlines, its ExpressJet Airlines affiliate and Mesaba Airlines – a unit of Delta Air Lines – a total of $175,000 (£106,000).
It meted out the punishment after 47 passengers were left stuck on the tarmac for six hours when their Continental Express flight was diverted to an unmanned airport.
The affected flight had been travelling from Houston to Minneapolis on August 8 when it was re-routed to Rochester, Minnesota due to bad weather.
After the plane landed, the only staff at the airport – employees of Mesaba Airlines – refused to allow the Continental passengers to disembark, insisting that no-one could enter the terminal because there were no federal security personnel on duty.
The passengers were subsequently held on the tarmac overnight, having to contend with incessantly wailing babies and the smell of an overused on-board toilet.
Handing down the fines to the three airlines, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was quoted in The Los Angeles Times as saying: "I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travellers."
He continued: "We will also use what we have learned from this investigation to strengthen protections for airline passengers subjected to long tarmac delays."
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