Transportation Department Issues First Fine Ever For Runaway Delays

I’m presuming there is some sort of federal shield against suing the airlines for false imprisonment.  If not, in the immortal words of Harvey Birdman, “I’ll take the case!”  (As soon as I’m licensed.)

WASHINGTON — The Transportation Department imposed its first penalties for runway delays Tuesday, collecting $175,000 from three airlines for leaving 47 passengers of a regional jet stranded overnight in Rochester, Minn.

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The flight, on Aug. 8, was supposed to go from Houston to Minneapolis but was diverted to Rochester because of bad weather. Continental Express does not serve Minneapolis, but asked Mesaba for help so the passengers could have access to the restrooms and vending machines.

A Mesaba ground agent, however, said the Transportation Security Administration forbade passengers from being in the terminal while it was closed. Later, however, the agency said that the passengers could have gotten off and reboarded if they stayed in the area inside the checkpoints, and that it had the ability to recall screeners in the middle of the night if necessary.

Instead, the passengers were kept on the plane from half past midnight until 6 in the morning, despite repeated efforts by the crew.

Source: Airlines Penalized for Stranding Passengers on Tarmac - NYTimes.com