Airlines seek JFK exemption from pending tarmac delay rule

American Airlines yesterday followed Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways in asking the US Dept. of Transportation for a partial exemption from the tarmac delay rule set to take effect April 29, the latest indication of the airline industry's wariness over the new requirement.

New York JFK this month closed its longest commercial runway for four months of construction and repair work (ATWOnline, March 2). AA, DL and JB, the airport's largest operators, say they will have to cancel numerous flights or incur millions of dollars in fines owing to inevitable delays caused by the closed runway and are seeking an exemption from the rule at the airport.

Public outrage over several stranding incidents, including the high-profile episode at Rochester (Minn.) International in August in which passengers were stuck onboard an ExpressJet ERJ-145 for more than 5 hr., led DOT to issue a rule that requires US airlines to deplane passengers after a 3-hr. delay under most circumstances or face fines of up to $27,500 per passenger (ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2009).

Airlines long have argued that the rule will create more problems than it solves. US Airways President Scott Kirby, speaking at the FAA Aviation Forecast Conference in Washington last week, said the rule will "unequivocally. . .be horrible for customers." He pointed to a mid-February snowstorm at Dallas/Fort Worth, noting that US had 12 flights that were delayed close to the 3-hr. limit on the day the snow started but were able to take off. If the tarmac delay rule had been in effect, "we would have had to cancel all those flights and 1,500 customers would have been stuck in Dallas for 4-5 days, unable to get out," he said.

Susan Baer, director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates JFK as well as New York LaGuardia and Newark, briefly addressed the tarmac delay rule yesterday during an appearance at the International Aviation Club in Washington. In response to a question from ATWOnline concerning the potential impact, she said, "The customer has spoken. . .We [airports, airlines, DOT and FAA] need to figure out a way to make the rule work."