Continental Express Flight Delay Leads to $175K in Federal Fines

Posted by: Justin Bachman on November 24, 2009

The Dept. of Transportation is fining three airlines a total of $175,000 for the Aug. 8 delay that trapped 47 people on a regional jet overnight in Rochester, Minn. The federal findings — and the first penalties for keeping passengers stuck on a plane — accuse Continental (CAL), ExpressJet Holdings (XJT), and Mesaba of unfair and deceptive practices in air transportation.

Houston-based ExpressJet operated the 50-seat jet for Continental. The flight was diverted from Minneapolis because of thunderstorms. The DOT fined both airlines $50,000. Mesaba, a unit of Delta Air Lines (DAL), was fined $75,000 because a company agent at the airport repeatedly told ExpressJet personnel that the airport was closed and passengers could not be allowed into the terminal. (In such situations, federal rules allow passengers into airports if they are restricted to secured areas.)

“I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a news release Tuesday. The department called the fines “precedent-setting” because they apply to such a delay “as well as the first time a carrier acting as a ground handler for another airline has been punished for failing to properly help passengers leave an aircraft during an unreasonably long tarmac delay.”

All three carriers disputed the findings by the DOT’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings but agreed to the fines to settle the issue. The airlines must pay half the fine in cash and can defer the rest if they agree to spend it on further training to prevent flight delays. The pdf files of all three consent orders can be read here. (To search, the case docket is DOT-OST-2009-0001.)

"Since this event, ExpressJet has worked with Continental to ensure that diverted and delayed flights are handled in a manner that provides for the maximum safety and comfort for customers," spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas said in an email. In a statement, Continental said its regional airline "worked throughout the night to safely deplane the customers at the earliest possible time yet was unable to do so because the ground handler failed to provide reasonable assistance and accurate information." Mesaba President John Spanjers said the airline feels "it operated in good faith by providing voluntary ground handling assistance to ExpressJet during this delay. However, customer service is paramount, and we are reevaluating our policies and procedures for the courtesy handling of other airlines' flights to do our part to mitigate this type of delay."

U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, took the fines as a further call that their proposed legislation be enacted as part of a bill to reauthorize the FAA. In a statement, the senators said the enforcement shows that U.S. travelers need a "passenger bill of rights" to protect them from such situations.

Separately, the DOT is considering rules that would force airlines to devise plans for long runway delays and install those in their carriage contracts, making them legally enforceable. They would also be forced to audit the plans annually. A decision is expected by year’s end.