Senator Barbara Boxer says, after extrodinary incidents, most recently over the Valentines Day travel binge, she is planning to introduce a Traveler's Bill of Rights to the senate outlining a list of basic rights to travelers.
This was sparked by stories of passengers being stuck on planes still on the tarmac due to bad weather, some up to
11 hours.
In her explaination of the bill, Senator Boxer said, "I've been stuck on the tarmac many times in my travel back and forth to California. Sometimes with the weather and traffic, it's unavoidable. But to keep passengers—which usually include infants and the elderly—on a plane for 11 hours in the worst of conditions is absurd."
As of now, the airline industry has blocked previous government legislation promoting basic passenger rights, promising to follow a voluntary code of conduct; a code that is often ignored.
Jet Blue, the airline that kept the passengers boarded for 11 hours, admitted it waited 5 hours before even considering calling buses to unload the stranded passengers.
To keep people essentially hostage on a plane if it is obviously grounded is rediculous. I would have hoped the airlines could be trusted to recognize this on their own, but this is apparently not the case.
This was sparked by stories of passengers being stuck on planes still on the tarmac due to bad weather, some up to
11 hours.
In her explaination of the bill, Senator Boxer said, "I've been stuck on the tarmac many times in my travel back and forth to California. Sometimes with the weather and traffic, it's unavoidable. But to keep passengers—which usually include infants and the elderly—on a plane for 11 hours in the worst of conditions is absurd."
As of now, the airline industry has blocked previous government legislation promoting basic passenger rights, promising to follow a voluntary code of conduct; a code that is often ignored.
Jet Blue, the airline that kept the passengers boarded for 11 hours, admitted it waited 5 hours before even considering calling buses to unload the stranded passengers.
To keep people essentially hostage on a plane if it is obviously grounded is rediculous. I would have hoped the airlines could be trusted to recognize this on their own, but this is apparently not the case.