Airline Passengers Push Congress to Pass Tarmac-Waiting Limit

If you've every felt frustrated and powerless while cramped in your seat on the tarmac, you're not alone. Some passengers are so upset that they're pushing Congress to to pass a mandatory "Bill of Rights" to limit waiting to three hours. On Tuesday, demonstrators on the National Mall attempted to recreate the cramped jetliner experience on Tuesday by erecting a portable vinyl carport painted to resemble the outside of an airplane. A recording of crying children played while organizers sat in tightly-packed plastic chairs.

Did the message get through? Rep. John Hall, D-New York, (who was recently stuck on La Guardia's tarmac for three hours), believes delayed takeoffs can be assigned in the order they were originally scheduled. This assignment would allow the plane to return to the gate, and passengers to disembark rather than sitting on the plane, while the flight would not lose its spot in line.

I don't know if an amendment to our Bill of Rights is necessary, but I do think that airlines need a bit of a push to get some problems solved. Perhaps this is the push that'll get them moving. Literally.

[via CNN]

Filed under: Activism, North America, United States, Airlines, Airports