One year later, tarmac delay rule proving to be a giant step forward for air travelers

As millions of air travelers prepare to take to the skies this summer, they can be thankful for one less travel stress: lengthy tarmac delays.

Just one year after DOT introduced a new aviation consumer rule intended to prevent long tarmac delays, it's clear that we’ve accomplished our goal of virtually eliminating the number of aircraft leaving passengers stranded without food, water, or working lavatories for hours on end.

This is a giant step forward for air travelers.

The rule prohibits airlines operating domestic flights from allowing an aircraft to remain on the tarmac more than three hours without providing an opportunity for passengers to deplane.  During the first 12 months after the rule went into effect, these lengthy delays largely disappeared.

In fact, from May 2010 through April 2011, airlines reported only 20 extended delays compared to 693 reported from May 2009 through April 2010.

That’s a 97 percent drop.

And the rule has reduced extended tarmac delays without causing any significant increase in flight cancellations as some critics had claimed.

The number of flights canceled after tarmac delays of more than two hours – the flights that could have conceivably been canceled to avoid violating the rule – increased only slightly in the last year, from 336 between May 2009 and April 2010 to 387 between May 2010 and April 2011.  When you weigh those additional 51 cancellations against the more than 6 million flights operated by the 16 reporting carriers in a given year, we're talking about less than one one-thousandth of a percent.

While we are thrilled that our ban on tarmac delays has been a success, we're not going to rest on our laurels when it comes to consumer protection.  DOT continues to create and enforce rules that protect your rights before, during and after flights.  Later this summer, an additional rule will go into effect establishing a four-hour tarmac delay limit for all international flights operated by both U.S. and foreign carriers at U.S. airports.

The bottom line is: We think airline passengers deserve to be treated fairly, and establishing basic rights for aviation consumers is the right thing to do.

Comments

[Vanessa]

From a passenger's perspective, thank you!

[Henna]

Thank you! A big step forward!

Although, 3 hours is a long period...the cut off should probably be at around 90 minutes...

But all said and done, a great step. Thanks again!

[matthew mok]

Thanks for the great information. It's definitely a great step for we passengers.