Originally Posted by
Fredd
An indication from the article that this new rule at least has some semblance of bipartisanship:
Mary Peters, who was transportation secretary under former President George W. Bush, proposed requiring airlines to have contingency plans for stranded passengers. The idea was that if airlines include these plans in their "contract of carriage" — the fine print on an airline ticket — consumers can hold them responsible in court if they break their promise...
...LaHood has rewritten Peters' proposal, added a firm time-limit and other protections, and made the proposal a final rule...
The DOT press release notes exceptions (my bolding) large enough to taxi a 744 through in certain situations:
The new rule prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without deplaning passengers, with exceptions allowed only for safety or security or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
These were my sentiments, exactly. They will stretch the loopholes until they snap. They won't close the loopholes until someone dies while trapped on one of these planes. It will be too little, too late then.