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47 Trapped on 9-Hour 'Nightmare' Flight

By Polly Davis Doig, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 10, 2009 10:24 AM CDT

(Newser) – If 9 hours on a grounded puddle-jumper with screaming babies and the scent of overly busy toilets wafting through cramped aisles sounds like your idea of a good time, then Continental Airlines had your ticket to paradise. When storms forced a Minneapolis-bound flight to divert... Read full story »

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US • Money

Minnesota • airport security • Minneapolis airport • airline delays • Continental Airlines • airline passenger's bill of rights • tarmac • ExpressJet Airlines • Rochester, Minn.

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Passengers Stuck on Runway Have No Recourse

(NEWSER) - The passengers who spent 5.5 hours trapped inside a plane in Rochester, Minn., last weekend didn’t revolt. But if they had, they could have wound up in trouble with the law, USA Today reports. Federal aviation laws give airlines sole authority over whether passengers stay on a plane or get off—anyone attempting to disembark on their own could be slapped with a $25,000 fine. More»

White House Probes Minn. Plane Stranding

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(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is investigating last weekend’s 9-hour stranding of 47 passengers on a Minnesota airport tarmac, the AP reports. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood says his department's general counsel is determining whether laws were broken in the case. “While we don't yet have all the facts, this incident as reported is very troubling,” says LaHood. The situation may fuel pending legislation that limits tarmac waits. More»

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(NEWSER) - Three airlines have landed $175,000 in federal fines for stranding 47 passengers in a locked plane on a Minnesota tarmac overnight. The passengers were stuck on a Continental Airlines plane—without a working toilet—after crewmembers were told that passengers couldn't disembark because security staff had left for the night. The fine is the Department of Transportation's first-ever punishment against airlines for leaving passengers stranded on a plane. More»

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47 Trapped on 9-Hour 'Nightmare' Flight

Minnesota • airport security • Minneapolis airport • airline delays • Continental Airlines • airline passenger's bill of rights • tarmac • ExpressJet Airlines • Rochester, Minn.

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