The federal government is fining American Airlines $4.1 million for dozens of instances where passengers were kept on board planes without a chance to exit during long ground delays.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the fine this morning.
It's the largest such fine against an airline since rules covering long ground delays took effect about a decade ago.
Listen and subscribe to The L.A. Local podcast: your TL;DR for what's happening in Southern California
The DOT says when it looked into operations between 2018 and 2021, Fort Worth-based American Airlines kept at least 43 domestic flights stuck on the ground for at least three hours or more without giving passengers the chance to deplane. Exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security, or air traffic control-related reasons.
“Our tarmac rule is meant to prevent passengers from being trapped in aircraft on the ground for hours on end,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to take enforcement action as necessary to ensure passengers are not kept delayed on the tarmac for lengthy periods of time.”
American owes half the fine in the next 30 days, while the department gave the airline credit for the other half, just over $2 million, for compensation it paid to delayed passengers.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Related
Related
