U.S. fines American Airlines for dozens of long tarmac delays

The U.S. government has fined American Airlines $4.1 million for multiple long ground delays where passengers were kept on planes without a chance to exit.

The fine details: The U.S. Department of Transportation said this is the largest fine against an airline for such offences since regulations covering long ground delays were introduced about ten years ago.
* American Airlines must pay half the fine within the next 30 days
* The remaining half, over $2 million, has been credited by the department for compensation American Airlines has already paid to passengers affected by the delays.

Investigation insights: The department’s investigation found that between 2018 and 2021, American Airlines kept 43 domestic flights stuck on the ground for at least three hours without giving the 5,821 total passengers the chance to disembark.
* The department stated that exceptions allowing airlines to deviate from the rules did not apply in these cases.

Responses: American Airlines said these 43 flights represented a tiny fraction of 1% of the approximately 7.7 million flights American and American Eagle operated between 2018 and 2021.
* While the airline said it had provided “substantial compensation” to delayed passengers, it agreed to the settlement in the consent order.

Where it happened: Most of the delays occurred at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, while others happened in San Antonio and Houston, when inbound DFW flights were redirected there.
* Many of these delays occurred during thunderstorms, and were attributed to American Airlines’ inability to manage its airport gates to allow passengers to deplane.

View original article on NPR

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