Heralded as a passenger-friendly move, airlines in the US can not hold passengers inside a plane on a tarmac for more than three hours, according to a new federal law.
However, the new rule is valid only for domestic flights and the international flights do not come under its purview. The new rules go into effect in about three months.
"Airline passengers have rights, and these new rules will require airlines to live up to their obligation to treat their customers fairly," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.
The new rule, announced Monday, prohibits US airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without deplaning passengers.
The exceptions allowed are only for safety or security or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
US carriers operating international flights departing from or arriving in the country must specify, in advance, their own time limits for deplaning passengers, with the same exceptions applicable, Department of Transportation (DOT) said.
Carriers are required to provide adequate food and drinking water for passengers within two hours of the aircraft being delayed on the tarmac and to maintain operable lavatories and, if necessary, provide medical attention.
This rule was adopted in response to a series of incidents in which passengers were stranded on the ground aboard aircraft for long periods and also in response to the high incidence of flight delays and other consumer problems.
In one of the most recent tarmac delay incidents, the Department fined Continental Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines and Mesaba Airlines a total of $175,000 for their roles in a nearly six-hour ground delay at Rochester, Minnesota.
The new rules also prohibits airlines from scheduling chronically delayed flights, subjecting those who do to DOT enforcement action for unfair and deceptive practices and requires airlines to designate an airline employee to monitor the effects of flight delays and cancellations, respond in a timely and substantive fashion to consumer complaints and provide information to consumers on where to file complaints.
