US Airways holds 100s of passengers hostage for up to 8 hours
Mar 17, 2007, 6:44 pm
#1
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US Airways holds 100s of passengers hostage for up to 8 hours
At least nine planes sat on Philadelphia International's tarmac with stranded passengers for six hours or more on Friday (March 16th), where 95 percent of the flights were canceled Friday night because of extreme icy conditions, according to KYW Newsradio. (One flight for 8 hours)
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First it was American Airlines, them Jet Blue, now US Airways, we need a Passenger Bill of Rights.
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First it was American Airlines, them Jet Blue, now US Airways, we need a Passenger Bill of Rights.
Mar 17, 2007, 9:59 pm
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Multiple airlines had pax stuck on planes for many hours during this storm. It was not just US!!!! I read an article on AOL news just a few minutes talking about a variety of airlines that had pax stuck on planes anywhere from 3 hours to 12 hours. It was a horrible storm that screwed up everybody and everything.
Mar 17, 2007, 10:15 pm
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Multiple airlines had pax stuck on planes for many hours during this storm. It was not just US!!!! I read an article on AOL news just a few minutes talking about a variety of airlines that had pax stuck on planes anywhere from 3 hours to 12 hours. It was a horrible storm that screwed up everybody and everything.
Mar 18, 2007, 12:07 am
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I dunno. Keeping people trapped in a plane sitting of the tarmac is just too cruel,
I mean there has to be some way to let people off the plane for a while. I heard people suggest a 3 hour rule or something like that. There has to be a way to do it.
I mean there has to be some way to let people off the plane for a while. I heard people suggest a 3 hour rule or something like that. There has to be a way to do it.
Mar 18, 2007, 5:54 am
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"Lets all blame mother nature"...sure and lets blame the alcohol maker for Parkers DUI!
Mar 18, 2007, 5:56 am
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Airlines seem poorly equipped to deal with what is an increasingly attention-grabbing situation. Sooner or later, they're going to be inviting in government regulation in this area unless they come up with something. 
Mar 18, 2007, 7:08 am
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Just heard a story on the morning news....Air Maroc (?) had a plane on the tarmac at JFK for 16 hours- and it was 10 hours of sitting before the captain even came over the PA!
Mar 18, 2007, 8:41 am
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The above airlines are no better and all had problems with this storm. Plus why are you even bringing up the DUI thing. Not only is that old news, but it has no bearing on this situation.
Mar 18, 2007, 8:49 am
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I don't get why the people didn't just open the doors themselves and leave whether on the slide. What if someone had a panic attack or something. Whatever airline that does this, this is just ridiculous.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:03 am
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I'm sure your just joking. But if you aren't, if somebody just opened up the door and activiated the slide without direction/permision, chances are they'd end up getting arrested, no matter how justified they felt their actions were.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:09 am
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Legally they'd be kept in more sanitary conditions in custody than the state of a plane after 16 hours on the tarmac. Might be worth it !!
Mar 18, 2007, 9:12 am
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Other than the arrest and possible lawsuit by the airline to repack the emergency slide ($45,000 by some estimates)---probably nothing.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:23 am
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I wish people would not use over-dramatic language.
I have no recollection of hearing Doug Parker asking God to change the weather "or else"... so, until this happens, could we change our lexicon to something a little more appropriate?
Originally Posted by Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
hostage
noun [C]
someone who is taken as a prisoner by an enemy in order to force the other people involved to do what the enemy wants:
She was taken/held hostage by the gunmen.
The terrorists have seized 20 hostages and are threatening to kill one a day unless their demands are met.
noun [C]
someone who is taken as a prisoner by an enemy in order to force the other people involved to do what the enemy wants:
She was taken/held hostage by the gunmen.
The terrorists have seized 20 hostages and are threatening to kill one a day unless their demands are met.
Mar 18, 2007, 9:49 am
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You might even beat the civil suit from the airline to cover the cost of repacking the slide.
Mar 18, 2007, 10:00 am
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Uhm... right... didn't NW INVENT the whole idea of leaving people stuck on the plane?
I don't know how it was at PHL on Friday night, but if the conditions in the city are any indication there really were no good options. Cabs weren't running most of the night, walking more than half a block into the wind was a horrible experience, etc.
There's generally no excuse to leave people in the plane that long, but with the situation on Friday, they MAY have done as much as they could. If cars, which are designed to maneuver on the ground, have trouble, planes - which aren't - may have been in even worse shape. It begs the question of why load them in the first place and that makes B6 look like the real wise guys here.
I don't know how it was at PHL on Friday night, but if the conditions in the city are any indication there really were no good options. Cabs weren't running most of the night, walking more than half a block into the wind was a horrible experience, etc.
There's generally no excuse to leave people in the plane that long, but with the situation on Friday, they MAY have done as much as they could. If cars, which are designed to maneuver on the ground, have trouble, planes - which aren't - may have been in even worse shape. It begs the question of why load them in the first place and that makes B6 look like the real wise guys here.