When time — and passengers — sit still for hours.
When it comes to being stuck on a commercial airplane while it sits on the ground awaiting clearance to advance, how long is too long? My hunch is that you, like me, would say even an hour is way out of line. But it seems like the Transportation Department and the airlines see things differently. Much differently.
As reported in a New York Times article today, some airlines think it’s not too much to ask to have you sit on the plane for five hours! Unbelievable. Thankfully, this is one commercial air experience I ‘ve not yet been subjected to. Here’s a choice snippet from the article, written by Jeff Bailey:
The inspector general, Calvin L. Scovel III, found that some airlines — like Delta Air Lines and US Airways — have no formal commitment to allow passengers off a stranded plane.
Other airlines do commit to release passengers, after waits of two to five hours. Some also have committed to bring food and water out to the plane, but the waiting time varies from one to three hours, as the industry has failed to adopt a standard for what constitutes an excessive delay.
“We think it is unlikely that passengers’ definition of an extended period of time will vary depending upon which airline they are flying,” the inspector general noted in the report, suggesting that the industry adopt a consistent approach.
And here’s another excerpt:
This June was the worst month since 2000 for stranded flights, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which counted 462 flights taxiing out and being stuck on runways for more than three hours.
Moreover, officials acknowledge those figures do not capture the full extent of the problem because diverted and canceled flights are not included.
Still, the inspector general stopped short of suggesting a time limit to confinement on a stranded plane.. “We did not make a specific recommendation,” said Madeline Chulumovich, a spokeswoman for the inspector general. Mr. Scovel declined to elaborate on the report.
