The U.S. Department of Transportation has denied the requests of five airlines for a temporary exemption from its new rule limiting tarmac delays to three hours, after which the pilots of an aircraft must give any passenger on board the right to return to the terminal if the passenger wishes.
As a result, all U.S. airline flights covered by the rule will be subject to its terms as of April 29. The rule allows the DOT to fine any airline up to $27,500 for each passenger on board an aircraft that is delayed on the tarmac for more than three hours without allowing passengers to disembark if they wish. Accordingly, an incident involving a widebody jet full of passengers that incurred a tarmac delay of more than three hours without the pilots letting the passengers off could cost the airline operating the aircraft millions of dollars in DOT fines.
“Passengers on flights delayed on the tarmac have a right to know they will not be held aboard a plane indefinitely,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This is an important consumer protection, and we believe it should take effect as planned.”
The tarmac delay provision was part of a new airline passenger protection rule, issued last December, that prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac at large and medium hub airports for more than three hours without deplaning passengers. Exceptions were allowed only for safety or security reasons or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
On March 4, JetBlue Airways asked for an exemption from the rule for its operations at New York’s JFK Airport until that airport’s main runway, currently under construction, reopens on December 1.
That request was followed by similar requests by Delta Air Lines and American Airlines for their operations at JFK, by Continental Airlines for its flights at New York LaGuardia Airport and Newark International Airport, and by US Airways for Philadelphia International Airport.
The carriers argued that, without the requested exemptions, large numbers of flights would have to be canceled at New York-area airports and affected passengers would face significant inconveniences and delays.
The DOT says that, in denying the requests, it concluded that airlines could minimize tarmac delays by re-routing or rescheduling flights at JFK to allow the airport’s other three runways to absorb the extra traffic.
Media reports have suggested major U.S. airlines are unlikely to want to run the risk of being fined $27,500 per passenger involved in a tarmac delay of more than three hours and are likely to deal with the situation by pre-emptively canceling flights at any airport on any given day if it appears that bad weather that day (or any other cause) is likely to cause substantial tarmac delays before take-off.
As a result, say various industry airline-industry observers and spokesmen, the new rule is likely to have the unintended effect of causing many more flight cancellations at U.S. airports and interrupted passenge itineraries than was the case before it went into effect.
However, in an apparent effort to mitigate this possiblity, the DOT has noted it has the ability to take into account the impact of the runway closure and the harm to consumers when deciding whether to pursue enforcement action for failure to comply with the rule and the amount of a fine, if any, to seek as a result of non-compliance.
Related to this story:
- DOT Issues New Rule Expanding Air Passenger Protections
- New DOT Rule Seen to Work as Long U.S. Tarmac Delays Are Slashed Again
- New U.S. Airline Passenger Protection Rule Takes Effect
- DOT Issues Rule to Protect Travelers from Airport Tarmac Delays
- DOT Issues Precedent-Setting Fines for Tarmac Delay Incident
