US: Airlines stranded a record number of passengers last year
Airlines kept passengers waiting on the tarmac a record number of times last year, despite fines from the federal government, The Points Guy (TPG) reported Wednesday. Many of those delays couldn’t be helped, having been caused by bad weather and record numbers of travellers taking to the skies. But the increase could also be because the federal government has been less than aggressive in using penalties against the airline industry, the travel website says. TPG, citing data from the US DoT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, said 244 flights were delayed at least three hours in the first 11 months of 2018. That’s compared with 164 the previous year — and only 39 delays in 2014. The DoT has the authority to impose fines of up to $27,500 per passenger for tarmac delays that last for at least three hours on domestic flights or four hours on international flights. The agency began levying the fines in 2010 following years of consumer complaints about the practice. TPG says airlines worked to minimize tarmac delays after the government crackdown — and it’s still well below what it was before the Transportation Department started fining the carriers — but an analysis of data shows the number has been creeping higher in the past five years.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-02-14/general/us-airlines-stranded-a-record-number-of-passengers-last-year
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
US: Airlines stranded a record number of passengers last year
Airlines kept passengers waiting on the tarmac a record number of times last year, despite fines from the federal government, The Points Guy (TPG) reported Wednesday. Many of those delays couldn’t be helped, having been caused by bad weather and record numbers of travellers taking to the skies. But the increase could also be because the federal government has been less than aggressive in using penalties against the airline industry, the travel website says. TPG, citing data from the US DoT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, said 244 flights were delayed at least three hours in the first 11 months of 2018. That’s compared with 164 the previous year — and only 39 delays in 2014. The DoT has the authority to impose fines of up to $27,500 per passenger for tarmac delays that last for at least three hours on domestic flights or four hours on international flights. The agency began levying the fines in 2010 following years of consumer complaints about the practice. TPG says airlines worked to minimize tarmac delays after the government crackdown — and it’s still well below what it was before the Transportation Department started fining the carriers — but an analysis of data shows the number has been creeping higher in the past five years.<br/>
