New Rules Decrease Flight Delays

By Terry Green
Dec 8 2010

The US Department of Transportation announced today that a new set of rules for airlines has decreased travel delays in the past year.

The rule set was actually enacted earlier this year. The rule states that airlines that operate domestic flights cannot allow their airplane to sit on the tarmac for more than three hours without allowing passengers to leave the plane. This new rule has decreased the total number of flights that have been delayed on the tarmac.

Last year there were an average of 11 flights per year at major airports across the US that were stuck on the tarmac for several hours. During those times the passengers were not allowed to leave the plane, which increased tensions on board the flight and at times led to problems that needed to be dealt with by Federal Air Marshals.

The US Department of Transportation enacted the new rules to prevent such problems as tension in airports has already reached a critical point. It would appear that the new rule set has created the type of environment that is conducive to safer travel for the passengers that are arriving and leaving at the major US cities.

According to the rules, those airlines that do not follow the new rules will be subjected to a series of hefty fines and penalties. Thus far the US Department of Transportation has not issued any fines or penalties but they will continue to monitor the situation and act accordingly.