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Klobuchar Responds to New DOT Rules on Tarmac Delays; Klobuchar Had Long Advocated for Pro-Passenger Tarmac Limits

DOT rules incorporate important provisions of Passenger Bill of Rights

December 21, 2009

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN), a member of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee and cosponsor of the Passenger Bill of Rights, released the following statement in response to the Department of Transportation (DOT)’s announcement today to limit tarmac delays to three hours.

“I’m pleased the Department of Transportation has taken this action to protect the rights of airline passengers,” said Klobuchar.  “This is a victory for airline passengers everywhere. Recent incidents in Minnesota highlighted the need for some common-sense rules.  Passengers shouldn’t be held captive for hours on end when the plane is just sitting on the airport tarmac.”

Two incidents occurred in August involving flights to Minnesota that highlighted the need for limits on tarmac delays.  Continental Flight 2816 was en route from Houston Intercontinental Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on the evening of August 7th when it was redirected to Rochester International Airport due to severe weather.  Passengers on the flight were then stranded on the tarmac for six hours.  Klobuchar sent letters to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Continental Airlines and ExpressJet asking for a comprehensive review of the incident.

Two weeks later, on August 21, Sun Country Flight 242, which was heading from New York’s JFK Airport to Minnesota, was stranded on the tarmac for more than five hours.  Shortly after Klobuchar spoke with Sun Country CEO Stan Gadek, Sun Country announced that it would limit its flights to 4 hours on the tarmac. 

The DOT’s Rule, which tracks many of the provisions of the Passenger Bill of Rights, prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from allowing 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 that returning to the gate would disrupt airport operations. 

Among other things, the rule would also:

•    Prohibit airlines from scheduling chronically delayed flights, subjecting those who do to DOT enforcement action for unfair and deceptive practices; 
•    Require airlines to designate an airline employee to monitor the effects of flight delays and cancellations, respond in a timely and substantive fashion to consumer complaints and provide information to consumers on where to file complaints;
•    Require airlines to display on their website flight delay information for each domestic flight they operate; and
•    Require airlines to adopt customer service plans and audit their own compliance with their plans.

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