Current:Home > reviewsU.S. fines American Airlines for dozens of long tarmac delays -EliteFunds
U.S. fines American Airlines for dozens of long tarmac delays
View
Date:2025-04-15 08:16:36
DALLAS — The federal government is fining American Airlines $4.1 million for dozens of instances in which passengers were kept on board planes without a chance to exit during long ground delays.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said Monday it is the largest such fine against an airline since rules covering long ground delays took effect about a decade ago.
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, according to a consent order that settled the case.
The department said its investigation revealed that from 2018 through 2021, American kept 43 domestic flights stuck on the ground for at least three hours without giving passengers — 5,821 in all — the chance to deplane. There are exceptions in which airlines are allowed to bend the rules, including for safety and security reasons, but the department said none of those were factors in the flights it identified.
"This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the rights of airline passengers," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who vowed to hold airlines accountable under consumer-protection laws.
According to the consent order, American said it seeks to avoid any lengthy ground delays, but the 43 flights represented a tiny fraction of 1% of the roughly 7.7 million flights that American and American Eagle operated between 2018 and 2021. The airline said it provided "substantial compensation" to delayed passengers," and has since devoted more management attention to avoiding delays.
Most of the delays occurred at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where American is the dominant airline, and others occurred in San Antonio and Houston when flights heading to DFW were diverted there. Many occurred during thunderstorms, and American was unable to manage its airport gates to let passengers deplane.
The airline took particular issue with delays at Reagan Washington National Airport during a winter storm in January 2019, but accepted the settlement outline in the consent order.
veryGood! (61774)
Related
- 'Most Whopper
- Opening month of mobile sports betting goes smoothly in Maine as bettors wager nearly $40 million
- New lawsuit accuses Diddy, former Bad Boy president Harve Pierre of gang rape
- A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico indicts three men on environmental crimes
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Families had long dialogue after Pittsburgh synagogue attack. Now they’ve unveiled a memorial design
- Deputy US marshal detained after ‘inappropriate behavior’ while intoxicated on flight, agency says
- Wisconsin appeals court upholds decisions denying company permit to build golf course near park
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Putin continues his blitz round of Mideast diplomacy by hosting the Iranian president
Ranking
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- The Masked Singer: Gilmore Girls Alum Revealed as Tiki During Double Elimination
- 10 Wisconsin fake electors acknowledge actions were used to overturn 2020 election
- Senators tackle gun violence anew while Feinstein’s ban on assault weapons fades into history
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Azerbaijan to hold snap presidential election on February 7, shortly before Russia’s vote
- China’s exports in November edged higher for the first time in 7 months, while imports fell
- Senators probe private equity hospital deals following CBS News investigation
Recommendation
New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
Biden urges Congress to pass Ukraine funding now: This cannot wait
Three North Carolina Marines were found dead in a car with unconnected exhaust pipes, autopsies show
RHOC's Shannon Beador Breaks Silence on Her Ex John Janssen Dating Alum Alexis Bellino
Could your smelly farts help science?
Life Goes On Actress Andrea Fay Friedman Dead at 53
Yankees land superstar Juan Soto in blockbuster trade with Padres. Is 'Evil Empire' back?
10 Wisconsin fake electors acknowledge actions were used to overturn 2020 election