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Flight delays are the worst, but tarmac delays are another level of horror. The longest tarmac delay I've endured was around 2.5 hours, a bit shy of the point where you're legally allowed to disembark a delayed domestic flight, and I still wanted to tear my hair out by the end of it. When those delays stretch out even further, it's akin to psychological torture.
Not every passenger is willing to sit down and take it, though. After enduring hours of an agonizing American Airlines tarmac delay on June 2, one desperate passenger took the nuclear option: he called the cops.
The passenger, @petersantilli , claimed they were delayed because they had "too much fuel" and were overweight for landing at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, then because the pilot needed to get a new route that would burn more fuel. Technical stuff inside, the long and short of it was that the American Airlines flight Peter was on had been sitting on the tarmac for nearly three hours. He had finally had enough, allegedly dialing 911 in a last-ditch effort to finally get off the plane!
Related: American Airlines Faces a New Lawsuit Over Alleged Racial Discrimination
Peter never did post an update detailing whether or not the police arrived (I suspect they didn't, for reasons I'll address in a moment). Apparently, though, the tarmac delay extended long enough to make him miss his connecting flight- a miserable ordeal that any seasoned air traveler can sympathize with.
Understanding Tarmac Delay Rules
I don't think any airline is above criticism, least of all American Airlines. The company has a controversial reputation for, among other things, a history of violating passenger rights during tarmac delays. Last year, American was fined $4 million for numerous incidents where passengers were held on the plane during tarmac delays past the point that they legally should have been allowed to disembark. So yeah, American does have a track record of unlawful behavior in this respect.
However, I don't think Peter's predicament had ventured into unlawful territory yet, at least not by the time he called the cops, assuming his statement was accurate. Peter claimed that they'd been held on the ground since 4:22 pm, and he called 911 around 7:08 pm. That's still a few minutes short of the 3-hour tarmac delay disembarkation rule enforced by the US DOT. It might seem like splitting hairs, but those 14 spare minutes make the difference between a massive inconvenience and a legal violation of passenger rights.
Even if this wasn't a case for the cops, though, it's always worth revisiting passenger rights when it comes to tarmac delays. Flight delays happen all the time for valid reasons, but passengers deserve better when they happen. Passengers do sometimes get held overlong on the tarmac even when it's in violation of their rights, and if they miss connections or are stranded overnight, many airlines use loopholes to avoid reimbursing them.
There's good news: the DOT recently rolled out a mandate forcing airlines to issue full cash refunds for all sufficiently significant flight delays and cancellations - no loopholes. And the fact that companies like American are getting legal pushback for violating passenger rights during flight delays is promising, too. But we've got a long way to go before these problems are a thing of the past.
If you want to be an informed traveler, read up on your rights as a passenger. If nothing else, it'll at least help you pinpoint the exact moment you can start escalating your complaints legally!
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