Hostage Release: New Regs Will Limit Wait Times on Airport Tarmacs
Just in time for the holiday delay season and the dire traveling weather, new regulations have been issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation to limit how long people can be “trapped” on an airplane on the tarmac. These regulations have been written thanks to the tendency of some airlines to keep people on their planes, waiting to take off, for ludicrous periods of time.
It’s interesting to see the reaction of the airlines themselves, via their association:
“We will comply with the new rule even though we believe it will lead to unintended consequences — more flights and greater passenger inconvenience. In particular, the requirement of having planes return to the gates within a three hour window or face significant fines is inconsistent with our goal of completing as many flights as possible. Lengthy tarmac delays benefit no one,” said ATA president and CEO James C. May.
Anyone who has experienced sitting in an airplane on the tarmac for more than a couple of hours will wonder how this rule could possibly make things worse. The regulations also add that people should be provided with basic necessities when they are stuck on an airplane.
In 2007, due to bad weather, I was stuck waiting on the tarmac for takeoff. Fortunately, my wife and I were rather patient, as we were returning from our honeymoon. We had already waited in the terminal for longer than we expected. As our flight got delayed more and more, the cafes, bars, and restaurants began to close. By the time we finally boarded it was around 11 p.m. Of course, to us boarding meant taking off, and we were relieved to be finally getting home. But not in this case; we finally took off around 1 a.m. in the morning.
The airline, US Airways, was actually quite good about it and served drinks to us all. When it was clear we couldn’t take off, a catering truck was sent out to replenish our supplies and we were offered more refreshments.
What was most interesting, and from the reports I have read probably unusual, is that as we approached the two-hour mark the captain asked if we wanted to taxi back to the terminal or wait on the aircraft. He reminded us that he would lose his place in the takeoff queue if we did go back and that instead of being fourth in the queue we’d end up being 30th. He actually took a vote of the passengers. No one wanted to go back to the terminal, so we all waited.
It seems from the horror stories one reads that not every pilot or airline is as reasonable. Asking anyone to sit in a cramped seat for over three hours on the ground without refreshments or toilet facilities is clearly unreasonable unless you are willing to refund the cost of the flight. Some airlines seem to think they can treat their passengers like cattle and do with them what they wish once on the airplane.
I think it’s an important step forward in our evolving civilization that so many of us are willing to let government bureaucrats control every aspect of our lives. I’m sure you won’t complain, Andrew, when the government tells you exactly how to run your
businessjobfamily.This is what the “conservatives, not Republicans” warned me against. They told me this would happen if I voted for
McCainBushDoleBushReagan.Being a frequent flyer (over 100,000) miles per year for the past 15 years, I can appreciate the frustrations with airline travel. However the legislation just passed only serves to paper over a significant issue that is more often than not the source of a great deal of the problems that we encounter with air travel. For years the FAA has been promising a new state of the art air traffic control system and for years despite millions of dollars having been spent on this endeavor we are no where nearer to a solution than when we started. Instead of passing laws to further regulate airlines (and drive up their cost) the Congress would better serve the citizen air traveler by ending the government run monopoly over the air traffic control system and open it up to private enterprise. With a profit motive to guide their actions – maybe then we will have a more efficient system of air transportation.
Until you have personally experienced the horror of being trapped on an airplane sitting on the ground, with inoperative or full toilets, screaming kids, lack of food and water………and no end in sight, you should not comment against this article. Yes, it would be nice if the federal government had not stuck its nose in this, and it would be even nicer still if this legislation was not necessary. However, it was brought about by airline management who made conscious decisions to treat the passengers as cattle in a truck on the way to the slaughter house…….It is a classic example of the law of the consequences of action working.
My son is an air traffic controller and told me that pilots pull out of the gates when they know they have nowhere to go because they start getting paid as soon as they leave the gate. With a comfortable seat up front and access to a restroom, what do they care about the rest of you?
Because of the economics of airline travel, airlines no longer care about customer satisfaction. People buy based on price, shopped on the internet, and airlines respond by providing discount quality service.
This regulation or something like it is, sadly, necessary.
I have a revolutionary suggestion for increasing efficiency at LAX. Permit pilots taxi up to the gate themselves!! – rather than making them wait or 30 minutes for a tractor to tow them the last few yards.
I mean, what is the reason for this creaky rule, other than a moral certainty that highly experienced pilots who have just flown 500 passengers, say, across the Pacific, in complete safety, are likely to collide with the terminal? Completely bizarre.
No. 4: I am sure your son is a sterling air traffic controller, but that is not how pilots get paid.
No. 6: Last time I flew, the plane pulled up to the jetway on its own power. In fact, it’s been like that every time I’ve flown, as far back as I can remember. Possibly policy differs at some airports or at some carriers.
And my opinion of this regulation: It will lead to increased flight cancellations, lots of folks sleeping in airport chairs after their flights are cancelled, and the airlines will pass the inevitable increased costs on to their customers.
No. 6: Last time I flew, the plane pulled up to the jetway on its own power. In fact, it’s been like that every time I’ve flown, as far back as I can remember. Possibly policy differs at some airports or at some carriers.
I arrived yesterday at LAX (Dec 24) on Air New Zealand flight NZ2 flight from Auckland. The plane was a Boeing 747-400. For whatever reason, they stopped the plane well short of the terminal and a tug took us the rest of the way. I’ve never had this happen on any other airline flight that I can recall at LAX or anywhere else, but it happened yesterday to us yesterday.
My worst horror story happened in 1979. We took off from Atlanta in a Stretch DC-8 and flew to Bangor, Maine to get fuel and food for a flight to Germany. Bangor was fogged in so the pilots shot a missed approach and diverted to Philadelphia. We arrived at about midnight. They wouldn’t let us off the plane nor did they have anyone there to refuel the plane or connect the air conditioning on a hot summer night. There was no food or water, either. We had to wait until about 0800 for the plane to be refueled, then we flew to Germany with no food or water. We received a $10 voucher for food when we arrived. Over the years, I’ve experienced several other delays inside a plane but nothing as bad as that flight.