New Rule Offers Trapped Travelers An Exit Door
source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126371905&ft=1&f=1006&sc=YahooNews
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It's not covered by the Geneva Conventions, but being trapped in an airplane while waiting for takeoff sometimes feels like a crime against humanity.
Starting Thursday, airline passengers stuck on the tarmac have some redress. Under a new federal rule, passengers must have the chance to get off that motionless plane three hours after leaving the gate.
Many passengers have faced the scenario where they're waiting for their flight to take off, and then weather or air traffic intervenes. A quick taxi to the runway becomes an ordeal.
At Baltimore-Washington International Airport recently, Syed Hussain was waiting for his bags. He said he was stuck for five hours at Houston's Hobby Airport because of a thunderstorm. He said he and other passengers onboard waited and waited, and they weren't offered any refreshments.
Now passengers like Hussain can complain to Ray LaHood. The transportation secretary has been a big defender of the new rule, which he says stipulates that "the pilot has to go back to the terminal when the three-hour period is up to let the people get off of the plane and do what they want to do."
If the airline misses that deadline, it will face a fine of fine of $27,500 per passenger, LaHood says. And passengers will no longer have to go hungry. They can look forward to snacks and "potable water" after two hours. And the lavatory also must be working.
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Starting Thursday, airline passengers stuck on the tarmac have some redress. Under a new federal rule, passengers must have the chance to get off that motionless plane three hours after leaving the gate.
Many passengers have faced the scenario where they're waiting for their flight to take off, and then weather or air traffic intervenes. A quick taxi to the runway becomes an ordeal.
At Baltimore-Washington International Airport recently, Syed Hussain was waiting for his bags. He said he was stuck for five hours at Houston's Hobby Airport because of a thunderstorm. He said he and other passengers onboard waited and waited, and they weren't offered any refreshments.
Now passengers like Hussain can complain to Ray LaHood. The transportation secretary has been a big defender of the new rule, which he says stipulates that "the pilot has to go back to the terminal when the three-hour period is up to let the people get off of the plane and do what they want to do."
If the airline misses that deadline, it will face a fine of fine of $27,500 per passenger, LaHood says. And passengers will no longer have to go hungry. They can look forward to snacks and "potable water" after two hours. And the lavatory also must be working.
READ MORE AT LINK
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