The Link Can you imagine being stuck in this tin can for all that time? I would have punched a flight attendant. Something's gotta be done about this, and soon. This should never happen.
There MUST be some kind of reason for not letting the people back in the airport, but I can not come up with any excuse. I just don't see how trapping these people on the tarmac is justified.
They were not let off the plane because all the TSA agents had gone home because the airport was closed. Because they could not be screened again by TSA agents, they could not leave the plane.
Who get's screened when they exit? This was a royal screw up and other black eye for Continental, which is too bad. They're really one of the better airlines but you sure wouldn't know that by their headlines.
airport management says that they could have placed the passengers in a secure area. They say it's the airline's asshatery, not the airports. ******* ******** either way. Imagine you get in a taxi. Halfway to the destination the driver pulls over and says you can't get out of the cab for 5 hours. Somebody's going to jail for kidnapping.
30+ passengers and what.....2 pilots and maybe 2 flight attendants? I know people like to "talk big", but I would have seriously considered staging a coup, and let the legal chips fall where they may.
i fly continental all the time. i have a love hate relationship with them. im at their elite status but i hate flying and i might have considered opening the escape hatch door and getting out. i would have been freaking out. not to mention it was prob hot as hell in that plane. when something bad happens on continenental they love to hand out the 25.00 voucher. im not a litigious guy but i would have had a lawsuit filed as quickly as possible.
Important point,,,,, ....this was ExpressJet....not Continental. The Continental I know would not do this to somebody.
Gecko...They have ALL done it and will again. Sometimes, no matter how much you want to do something, nothing can be done. I've been stuck on a taxiway for over 4 hours several times. If there are aircraft in front of you, no gate to go to, and no one willing to bring a bus to the aircraft, there is nothing to do but sit. You can scream into the radio or call folks on your cellphone, but there are times that things just get screwed up. Unfortunately, the people that could solve the pproblem leave the airport and go home for a beer.
Seriously, I just would have faked a medical emergency after about hour #4. They could try and prosecute me for my lie afterwards - I imagine that a jury would be on my side.
Johnny - You're addressing a point I didn't make. I don't work for CO but I fly them about 75,000 miles per year. I've seen plenty of weather and ATC delays and spent many hours in terminals and tarmacs.....my point is, each time CO addressed the needs of the passengers. I never seen them throw their hands in the air and say "f it". ps: I leave tomorrow on vacation.....I pray to the Gods of travel that you not set a sequence of events in motion that causes me to return to this thread and eat much crow.
Is the poor airline service and flight delays partly due to the fact that people that can afford it now fly private jets or chartered flights? Airlines have become all about budget and nothing else.
The sad part about this incident is that the captain was in position to solve this problem. That was a small aircraft at a small airport. All he had to do was taxi close to the terminal, open the door, off load the pax, and lead them to a terminal door. Somebody would have had to let them into the terminal. It wouldn't have taken too long to find a TSA person to rescreen if rescreening was even needed.
So long as the passengers never left the secured area, why would rescreening be needed?!? I switch planes at airports all the time without having to go back through security, why would I need security to get back on the plane I just got off. It is a ******** excuse.
Here's some informed analysis explaining why the proposed 3-hour rule won't work despite its good intentions:The Link The 3-hour rule might have helped the folks from the Express Jet story, but that is such a bizarre case I'm not even sure of that.
Update: apparently the blame is now shifting to Mesaba Airlines (a Delta/NW subsidiary), who refused to help Express Jet deplane (Continental has no ground crew in Rochester), despite requests by the captain for help. The Link
