What are some reasons passengers are stranded on the tarmac for several hours?
Jul 13, 2011, 6:21 pm
#1
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What are some reasons passengers are stranded on the tarmac for several hours?
you read on the news some plane and its passengers are trapped on the tarmac with no air conditioning and running out of water and babies crying etc...
what are some reasons that might happen? is there nothing to be done about it?
what are some reasons that might happen? is there nothing to be done about it?
Jul 13, 2011, 6:30 pm
#2
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When planes are stuck on the tarmac, it usually boils down to one of two situations:
1. The plane is waiting to take off.
2. The plane wants to get to a gate but no gate spaces are available.
1. The plane is waiting to take off.
2. The plane wants to get to a gate but no gate spaces are available.
Jul 13, 2011, 10:26 pm
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One reason is that if the airplane returns to the gate, it loses its place in line. When there are things like thunderstorms around, there may be only brief periods of time in which a few airplanes can take off. Everyone else waits in line.
If you are #4 in line, you don't want to give up your spot, only to come back to the end of the line and be #40. Thus, you stay on the tarmac and hope the weather clears up so they can start moving aircraft out.
If you are #4 in line, you don't want to give up your spot, only to come back to the end of the line and be #40. Thus, you stay on the tarmac and hope the weather clears up so they can start moving aircraft out.
Jul 13, 2011, 11:37 pm
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Stranded on the tarmac for an hour and twenty minutes.. and caused the entire family stress to make the connection HOU terminal E having landed in terminal A today..
The reason.. they removed a computer.. so IT was doing something.. and caused the delay.. at least that's what they announced..
Made the connection, but we were all hungry with only snack boxed on the Continental flight.. ugh!
The reason.. they removed a computer.. so IT was doing something.. and caused the delay.. at least that's what they announced..
Made the connection, but we were all hungry with only snack boxed on the Continental flight.. ugh!
Jul 14, 2011, 12:01 am
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An hour twenty is par for the course these days. My record is six hours at AMS. Storms, then mechanical. The US-bound crowd was getting a wee bit antsy... we finally cancelled.
Jul 14, 2011, 12:01 am
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One reason is that if the airplane returns to the gate, it loses its place in line. When there are things like thunderstorms around, there may be only brief periods of time in which a few airplanes can take off. Everyone else waits in line.
If you are #4 in line, you don't want to give up your spot, only to come back to the end of the line and be #40. Thus, you stay on the tarmac and hope the weather clears up so they can start moving aircraft out.
If you are #4 in line, you don't want to give up your spot, only to come back to the end of the line and be #40. Thus, you stay on the tarmac and hope the weather clears up so they can start moving aircraft out.
Jul 14, 2011, 12:03 am
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It was clear weather.. and when the Jazz flight started leaving the gate, it was pouring cats and dogs.. but we took off anyways..
I just didn't know how I was going to deal with a connection missed in HOU.. hour twenty wasn't all too bad..
Jul 14, 2011, 12:40 am
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Usually a combination of terrible things all happening at once.
A foreign flight to a smaller airport, very late, but union regulations have the customs agents off the clock at that hour and the place is not a big international with 24 hour customs shifts..so by law nobody can really set foot in the country, and the airport itself doesn't have a fully secure airside..and the plane lost it's gate by being late and the place has no airstairs..etc etc etc.
A foreign flight to a smaller airport, very late, but union regulations have the customs agents off the clock at that hour and the place is not a big international with 24 hour customs shifts..so by law nobody can really set foot in the country, and the airport itself doesn't have a fully secure airside..and the plane lost it's gate by being late and the place has no airstairs..etc etc etc.
Jul 14, 2011, 3:40 pm
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I got stuck for something like 5 hours at DFW during a freak snowstorm. When we boarded it was raining lightly which turned to heavy rain, freezing rain, then snow. DFW was overwhelmed with planes needing to be deiced so when we pushed back we were #41 for that. Most planes went back to the gate swamping those and so we sat and sat and sat. Eventually we left and I was happy our pilot chose to go on as most flights were canceled and I'm sure I would have been stuck there quite a while.
Jul 14, 2011, 9:48 pm
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I got stuck for something like 5 hours at DFW during a freak snowstorm. When we boarded it was raining lightly which turned to heavy rain, freezing rain, then snow. DFW was overwhelmed with planes needing to be deiced so when we pushed back we were #41 for that. Most planes went back to the gate swamping those and so we sat and sat and sat. Eventually we left and I was happy our pilot chose to go on as most flights were canceled and I'm sure I would have been stuck there quite a while.
I like the pilots and staff who make smart decisions that save us all time..
Jul 14, 2011, 10:45 pm
#12
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I got stuck for something like 5 hours at DFW during a freak snowstorm. When we boarded it was raining lightly which turned to heavy rain, freezing rain, then snow. DFW was overwhelmed with planes needing to be deiced so when we pushed back we were #41 for that. Most planes went back to the gate swamping those and so we sat and sat and sat. Eventually we left and I was happy our pilot chose to go on as most flights were canceled and I'm sure I would have been stuck there quite a while.
Jul 14, 2011, 11:02 pm
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I expect the airline to cancel the flight and put me in a hotel actually.
Jul 15, 2011, 11:49 am
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Well I was on that plane in Y and I would not have wanted to be stuck in a DFW hotel, especially as I had an important meeting the next morning. I was really happy we left while thousands of people did not. Especially as when we pushed back it was 11:30 AM so being put into a hotel at 2:30 or even 4:30 wouldn't have made any sense.