FAA Reauthorization Cleared for Takeoff, Passengers Left at Gate

Bill would let airlines decide how long to keep passengers on tarmac

WASHINGTON, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legislation scheduled to come
before the House of Representatives this week would let commercial airlines
themselves decide how long to force passengers to remain in their aircraft on
the tarmac, according to Kate Hanni, Executive Director of FlyersRights.org,
America's largest consumer organization representing airline passengers.

"The Federal Aviation Administration bill is cleared for takeoff, but
passengers have been left at the gate," charged Hanni, who is concerned that
"the bill gives the airlines the legal authority to keep us stranded on the
tarmac for as long as they want."

"Both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton co-sponsored
legislation to impose a 3-hour limit on tarmac delays when they were in
Congress, but House leaders didn't get the memo. Their bill does force
airlines to at least have adequate food and water on board should a tarmac
stranding occur, but that's small comfort when you're sitting in an
economy-class seat for 7, 8, or even 9 hours -- and that's exactly what this
legislation lets the airlines do."

Hanni, who founded FlyersRights.org after she herself was stranded on an
American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Dallas in 2006, said "there is
nothing so frustrating as to be held hostage inside a locked tube for over 9
hours on the ground in an economy seat."

"The least Congress should do is to mandate a 'bright line standard' requiring
airlines to allow passengers off the aircraft and back into the relative
comfort of the terminal after 3 hours."

Although the Congress has failed to require airlines to allow passengers off
planes after being stranded for 3 hours or more, the Canadian Parliament is
now considering measures that would force airlines there to allow passengers
to disembark after just one hour. In response, four leading Canadian
commercial airlines have voluntarily agreed to self-impose a 90-minute limit,
Hanni said.

FlyersRights.org is the largest non-profit airline passengers' rights
association in the U.S. with 25,000 members, a free hotline 1-877-FLYERS-6 and
a Web site, FlyersRights.org, that is completely dedicated to the Safety,
Health and Dignity of airlines passengers.

SOURCE FlyersRights.org

Mike Collins of FlyersRights.org, +1-202-494-6105, mikecollinspr@cox.net