Airlines Pay for Stranding Passengers

November 30, 2009

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.

The agency said that Continental Airlines and its regional affiliate, ExpressJet Airlines, operating as Continental Express, had deceived passengers by promising, through a “Customer First” statement on Continental’s Web site, to let passengers off planes within three hours when faced with an extended delay on the runway.

The two airlines argued that the promise was not enforceable by the government, but they agreed to pay $50,000 each in civil penalties.

A third airline, Mesaba, agreed to pay $75,000 because its employee told the Continental Express captain — wrongly — that the passengers could not be allowed into the terminal because the Transportation Security Administration was not present.

Read Article: The New York Times

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