American Eagle Airlines has been hit with a $900,000 fine for keeping hundreds of frustrated passengers holed up on a plane in Chicago earlier this year. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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The American Airlines affiliate experienced delays of more than three hours on 15 flights arriving at O’Hare International Airport on May 29, inconveniencing 608 travelers, officials said.
The steep fine is a clear warning to airlines that extreme delays will not be tolerated as they move into the busiest time of the year for air travel.
The DOT introduced new rules in April 2010 which say domestic flights must either return to the gate or enable passengers a means to exit the aircraft if the tarmac delay exceeds three hours.
The same rules apply after four hours for international flights.
Airlines in violation can now be fined up to $27,500 per passenger, but this is the first time the penalty has been enforced since the rule was implemented.
Much steeper penalties have been handed to airlines for incidents which violated federal safety regulations, but this is the largest fine paid by a carrier in a consumer protection case not involving civil rights violations.
American Eagle must pay $650,000 of the fine within 30 days, and the remaining $250,000 can be used to compensate passengers on the 15 affected flights, as well as future disrupted flights, the DOT said.
“We put the tarmac rule in place to protect passengers, and we take any violation very seriously,†Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.
“We will work to ensure that airlines and airports coordinate their resources and plans to avoid keeping passengers delayed on the tarmac.â€
The airline blamed the delays on a slow-moving weather system and airport congestion, adding it had apologized and provided travel vouchers or frequent flyer mileage credit to affected customers.
American Eagle is not alone in forcing infuriated passengers to remain cooped up on a plane for hours, within sight of the airport terminal.
On October 29, at least four planes sat on the tarmac at Bradley Airport, Conn., for at least seven hours when a freak Nor’easter snowstorm hit the region.
