Air Travelers Association Says New U.S. DOT 3-Hour Tarmac Rule is a Threat to Airline Passenger Safety
Placing time deadlines on safety related activities should never occur
David Stempler, President of the Air Travelers Association, an airline passenger advocacy organization, says that the new 3-hour Department of Transportation Tarmac Rule is a threat to airline passenger safety. He stated that, “placing time deadlines on safety related activities should never occur.” He continued, “You should never place a time deadline on when a pilot can safely take off; never set a time deadline on how long an airline mechanic should have to repair a plane; and never set a time deadline on when an air traffic controller can tell a pilot it is safe to takeoff or land.”
“placing time deadlines on safety related activities should never occur.”
Stempler further states, “The Department of Transportation’s new 3-hour tarmac rule will go into effect on April 29, 2010 and creates not only safety concerns for passengers, but misery in the form of many more cancelled flights. Airlines will not risk incurring DOT fines of up to $27,500 per passenger and will cancel flights before that becomes a possibility. This will result in what we call ‘Cancelassengers’. With flights so full, it could take up to days to get Cancelassengers to their destinations.”
Stempler continued, “The DOT says that airlines can park extra planes and extra crews at airports to prevent having Cancelassengers. First of all, airlines that are losing millions of dollars cannot afford the extra costs of such idle aircraft and idle crews. And second, it will be passengers that pay for such costs, and passengers have ‘voted with their wallets’ that they are not interested in paying higher fares, even for such services.”
David Stempler concluded “let’s dump this dangerous and inconvenient new tarmac rule.” For the problem of extended tarmac delays, “the DOT has created a cure that is worse than the disease.”
The Air Travelers Association, founded in 1997, is a passenger advocacy organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. Its focus is the safety, security, service, and savings of airline passengers. David Stempler, its President, is an internationally-recognized authority on airline passenger and aviation issues.
