US Airways flight stuck on tarmac for 7 hours

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TallDutch
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Joined: 30 Mar 2006, 00:00

US Airways flight stuck on tarmac for 7 hours

Post by TallDutch »

PHOENIX (AP) — Passengers on a US Airways flight from New York to Phoenix spent nearly 7 hours sitting on the tarmac waiting for bad weather to clear, finally arriving nearly six hours late, and presumably a whole lot grumpier.
Flight 17 from John F. Kennedy International Airport was due to leave at 6 p.m. Tuesday, but didn't actually take off until about 1 a.m., airline spokesman Phil Gee said.

Dozens of other aircraft were delayed because of a storm passing through the area, which closed the airport for about 90 minutes.

Gee said the plane pushed back from the gate at 6:30 p.m. ET and spent hours sitting on the tarmac so it wouldn't lose its takeoff slot.

The plane finally went back to the gate to refuel, but then resumed its wait for a takeoff slot. Several passengers decided to get off the plane while it was being refueled.

Flight 17 finally arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport at about 2:45 a.m. MT Wednesday. Once they had taken off, the pilots shaved some time off the scheduled 5 hour flight.

The incident comes nine months after Congress was flooded with complaints from passengers left sitting on airplanes for hours last winter. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., introduced a bill that would prohibit airlines from keeping travelers stuck on the tarmac for longer than three hours in February.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/ ... elay_N.htm

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cageyjames
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Post by cageyjames »

Yea I wouldn't fly US right now and I work at the company. :shock:
US Airways - Fly with US

regi
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Post by regi »

does a passenger has the right to leave the airplane?
Can a passenger claim that he is kidnapped, held against his free will?

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earthman
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Post by earthman »

I remember being stuck on the tarmac for over an hour just because our gate was taken!

Quite possibly that was a US airways flight as well, but I don't quite recall.

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TUB001
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Post by TUB001 »

regi wrote: Can a passenger claim that he is kidnapped, held against his free will?
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

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David747
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Post by David747 »

This delay once again highlights the need for the FAA and the airlines to move fast on new ATC radar and weather systems. This is getting ridiculous, more delays, more lost revenue for the airlines. I wish I can find the AW&ST article that highlighted the problems of the ATC system in the United States.

regi
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Location: Bruges

Post by regi »

what I mean is this:
if you are stuck in an airplane for many hours, do you have the right to demand to get out of the plane?
And if they don't let you out, do you have the right to force yourself out of the plane?

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David747
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Post by David747 »

regi wrote:what I mean is this:
if you are stuck in an airplane for many hours, do you have the right to demand to get out of the plane?
And if they don't let you out, do you have the right to force yourself out of the plane?
There are people lobbying for a passangers bill of rights, but I don't know how effective it will be.

LX-LGX
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Post by LX-LGX »

If you are stuck in an airplane for many hours, do you have the right to demand to get out of the plane? And if they don't let you out, do you have the right to force yourself out of the plane?
There are people lobbying for a passangers bill of rights, but I don't know how effective it will be.
There are Aviation Safety Laws who are different from every State, and shurely not a single passenger has a problem with that. Example: if you are instructed to sit down for the landing and you refuse to do so, the crew will notify Police/Justice, and they will prosecute you once you're out the plane. Also, if you smoke in the toilet: no mercy indeed.

What happened here, has nothing to do with aviation safety. If it would have happened in the EU, passengers could apply for the compensation for a delayed flight. But then, only if there are enough other passengers to do the same.

Forcing you out off the plane, by opening the door, is against every Aviaton Safety Law. Thus forbitten. But if you really want to get off the plane, you can apply for a medical emergency (claustrophobia perhaps?). The crew then has to open the door. But then, the airline is allowed to charge you the real costs for the disembarkement (which your personal insurance has to pay, if you have one). These claims are a civil matter, thus without Police or Justice involved, and no airline will risk to take you to court for that: if they loose the case, they risk hundreds of such disembarkements.

A right to not be trapped on a plane is part of the Proposal where some people are working on: "...If more than seventy five minutes elapse between when the last passenger boards a plane and when either the plane takes off or it aborts, returns to the gate, and commences deplaning passengers, and/or if more than sixty minutes elapse between when the plane touches down and when the first passenger steps off the plane, all passengers will be entitled to a Trapped On Board compensation and for an additional Trapped On Board compensation for each whole thirty minutes of extra time that this situation continues..."

The European Union has done quite well so far for passengers' rights: charter passengers must be informed if the flight is done through another operator, and then off course there is the EU-Rule on denied boarding, cancelled flights and delayed flights.

Till a Bill of Rights is adapted, the only way to get off the plane is by mass action: if plenty of passengers stand up and make noise, the crew can choose to open the door, because if they don't do so, the remaining passengers risk ... claustrophobia. Just make sure you cannot be identified as leader of the gang...

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David747
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Post by David747 »

LX-LGX wrote:
If you are stuck in an airplane for many hours, do you have the right to demand to get out of the plane? And if they don't let you out, do you have the right to force yourself out of the plane?
There are people lobbying for a passangers bill of rights, but I don't know how effective it will be.
There are Aviation Safety Laws who are different from every State, and shurely not a single passenger has a problem with that. Example: if you are instructed to sit down for the landing and you refuse to do so, the crew will notify Police/Justice, and they will prosecute you once you're out the plane. Also, if you smoke in the toilet: no mercy indeed.

What happened here, has nothing to do with aviation safety. If it would have happened in the EU, passengers could apply for the compensation for a delayed flight. But then, only if there are enough other passengers to do the same.

Forcing you out off the plane, by opening the door, is against every Aviaton Safety Law. Thus forbitten. But if you really want to get off the plane, you can apply for a medical emergency (claustrophobia perhaps?). The crew then has to open the door. But then, the airline is allowed to charge you the real costs for the disembarkement (which your personal insurance has to pay, if you have one). These claims are a civil matter, thus without Police or Justice involved, and no airline will risk to take you to court for that: if they loose the case, they risk hundreds of such disembarkements.

A right to not be trapped on a plane is part of the Proposal where some people are working on: "...If more than seventy five minutes elapse between when the last passenger boards a plane and when either the plane takes off or it aborts, returns to the gate, and commences deplaning passengers, and/or if more than sixty minutes elapse between when the plane touches down and when the first passenger steps off the plane, all passengers will be entitled to a Trapped On Board compensation and for an additional Trapped On Board compensation for each whole thirty minutes of extra time that this situation continues..."

The European Union has done quite well so far for passengers' rights: charter passengers must be informed if the flight is done through another operator, and then off course there is the EU-Rule on denied boarding, cancelled flights and delayed flights.

Till a Bill of Rights is adapted, the only way to get off the plane is by mass action: if plenty of passengers stand up and make noise, the crew can choose to open the door, because if they don't do so, the remaining passengers risk ... claustrophobia. Just make sure you cannot be identified as leader of the gang...

Interesting, thanks.

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