New Tarmac Delay Rule 101

(Dive Travel Business News - May 6, 2010 ) -- On Thursday April 29, 2010, new US Transportation Department legislation was put into effect that requires all U.S. airlines to deplane passengers after 3 hours or face potential fines of up to $27,500 per passenger. International airlines are not subject to the 3-hour delay rule, even if they land or takeoff from U.S. airports. The rule applies only to domestic flights and will not affect international flights. 

It all started last August when a Continental Express jet with 47 passengers was diverted from Minneapolis due to bad weather and was stranded overnight in the plane Rochester, Minn. some 50 yards from the terminal gate:   The horror stories emminating from that incident - airline passengers young and old, stranded on the tarmac for hours without food or water, without access to their medications or sanitary bathroom conditions - prompted  the Transportation Department to draw up the new 3-hour tarmac delay rules, which were approved in December 2009 and are now in effect.

Here's is a Summary of the 3-Hour Rule:

• Once the cabin doors close, the three hour rule goes into effect. If the plane sits at the gate with the doors open, that time doesn't count.
• The 3-hour countdown stops when the passengers are free to get off.
• The rule requires airlines to provide passengers with working toilets and, after two hours, food and water.
• When the 3-hour mark approaches, the pilot can opt to turn the plane around (or open the door if they are still parked at the gate). Some airlines, like US Airways, have told pilots to turn back at 2.5 hours to ensure that passengers can indeed deplane by the 3 hour mark (and avoid any potential fines to the airlines). Other airlines like Continental are telling their pilots to turn back at 2 hours unless takeoff is imminent.  
• Passengers can disembark at the gate or the airline could allow them to get off on the tarmac by using staircases or buses to shuttle them back to the terminal.
• There is one condition where sitting beyond three hours is allowed. It's when the pilot decides (with the help of air traffic control) that it's not safe to move or it would interfere with airport operations.
• If an airline is stranded on the tarmac, the airline have to provide passengers with enough food and water and keep bathrooms in working condition and have certain medical supplies available.
• The airline can cancel a flight to avoid violating the rule. If the airline cancels a flight due to the three hour rule, most airlines will rebook a passenger's flight - even on a different airline - within four hours of the original flight, if they can. 

Some helpful facts:

In 2009, there were 903 delays of 3 hours or more, out of more than 6.4 million flights. But 4,717 flights were delayed between two and three hours.  

Airports that are most likely to be impacted by this rule are those in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. However, if airlines start canceling flights, passengers all over the country could feel the consequences as crews and equipment wouldn't be in position for a later flight to another destination.  

Airlines that violate the three-hour rule are supposed to report their violations to the Transportation Department. If they don't, their passengers probably will: If the airline disregards the 3-hour rule, passengers can complain to the airline or file a grievance with the Transportation Department.  The airlines are required to respond to all complaints in writing - so passengers can even complain via email or post their complaint on the airline's Facebook page or Twitter account.

Other Sources:
Transportation Department
Air Transport Association 

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