Passengers stranded for 12 hours on plane

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/28/us-snow-airports-open.html

Passengers stranded for 12 hours on plane

Cathay Pacific said it is looking into why passengers were stuck for hours on the tarmac at JFK International Airport in New York after a major snowstorm walloped the northeastern United States.

Passengers on one flight from Vancouver did not deplane until about 12 hours after the flight had landed.

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Someone please tell me I'm overreacting, but why does this continue to happen? Is it really so difficult to get these people off the plane?

The airlines can fly them clear across the country, but somehow they are "stranded" probably within eyesight of their gate.

Completely Nuts and inefficient to say the very Least! It is absolutely ridiculous for people to be treated in this manner by an Airline. I understand weather difficulties but for the love of God and Country if we can put a man on the moon surely we can figure out how to Deplane an aircraft of it's passengers in bad weather!

This is yet another reason I refuse to fly anymore. After you are molested by security and you actually make it on the plane, there is no guarantee you will leave. And I refuse to get into something that I will not be allowed to get off of, especially if it is sitting on the ground! At least with the trains and subways that got stuck during the blizzard, you could crawl out the window if you just had to. Once you are on that plane, you are their captive. No way. Nope. :snooty: I'm not paying good money to be imprisoned with no food, toilet or air.

Then you gotta hope the stupid thing doesn't fall out of the sky for lack of maintence if you ever get off the ground.....:waitasec:

I have to admit it's getting harder and harder for me to consider spending good money with the airlines. I would go nuts if I had to be trapped on the plane for more than two hours; I have a pea bladder for one, and I can't imagine breathing everyone's used air for 12 hours - I might wig out and then have a felony on my record.

No gates available? And then no one to help them once they finally got off the plane to get their luggage?

I thought there was a passengers bill of rights thing that would prevent this from happening going into law - not sure whatever happened with that. Until we buckle down and just say NO to spending money on them, this abuse will continue.

Oh - and they also announced that airfare is going UP!

What a grand social experiment to see what we will put up with huh?

I usually only fly Southwest. I know I can't take Southwest out of the country - would if I could. I've never had a problem with them. Have had some issue with United, American and Delta.

I didn't have much desire to travel before, but I care less and less every day.

I do not see the point of paying loads of money to be treated like crap.

Luckily most of my people are in close driving distance. My brother, in LA, has to fly here 99% of the time. It was his stupid idea to move there, so I don't feel too guilty about that!

I was watching the news yesterday and they said part of the problem was some of the flights were international so they had to get the people through customs. AND??? Let them deplane at an international gate and go through like normal. What is the big freakin' deal???

Our local radio station was discussing the wait to get out of JFK. He talked with a woman who had a flight scheduled for either the 27th or 28th (cannot recall). Her flight was re-scheduled for Jan 1, but has not been re-scheduled AGAIN for Jan 4. That's at least a wait of 7 days. This is totally unacceptable.

I just heard that all of the planes that were stranded on the tarmac had one thing in common. They were all international flights.

The fines for violating the passengers bill of rights only applies to domestic flights.

Apparently the airport sent custom and immigration officers home during the storm, hence why the delay of deplayning. they cannot allow an international person to set foot on the ground UNLESS they are screened by immigration officers.

Ladybass0711 said:

Apparently the airport sent custom and immigration officers home during the storm, hence why the delay of deplayning. they cannot allow an international person to set foot on the ground UNLESS they are screened by immigration officers.

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They could let them deplane, though. They just couldn't let them clear customs. They could have let the poor people wait in the airport, as opposed to on a plane. That's just cruel to me.

Well, what gets me is that this type of snowfall is certainly not that unusual. So why not serve your customers by having a workable plan in place for the inevitable?

And I don't think customs inspectors who work at an international airport where there is the likelihood their services will be needed should be "sent home". Any more than nurses and other hospital employees are "sent home" when there's a huge snowstorm. Healthcare workers EXPECT to work some longer hours during an emergency when their services are needed.

The lack of consideration for the passengers throughout the airline industry is apalling. And IMO it is outrageous that laws must be passed to FORCE a service provider to treat their paying customers humanely!