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Passengers Forced To Be Cramped Campers Aboard Regional Jet

August 10, 2009 at 8:54 AM | by kjb | 4 Comments

Over the weekend about 50 passengers experienced airplane hell aboard a Continental Airlines regional jet stuck on the tarmac. Everybody was headed to Minnesota’s Twin Cities, but thunderstorms in the area forced the plane to take a pit stop in Rochester to wait out the storm and get some gas. However, the pit stop that started around midnight lasted until the next morning, and everyone was forced to snuggle tightly in the cabin of the plane.

Passengers obviously were less than thrilled, and one flyer let everyone know that the smells of the toilets and babies aboard the ExpressJet plane were getting pretty bad. Unfortunately, the situation sounds pretty typical. The crew couldn’t do much since they were over their legally allowed hours for the day, the security screeners at the Rochester airport had gone for the day, and all the passengers got to eat were a couple bags of pretzels.

We totally feel for the people stuck aboard this plane, and really wish they were let off the plane to spend the night on the floor of the terminal—especially since they didn’t finally depart until about 9:30 the next morning. Let this incident serve as a reminder to always carry your snuggie and travel pillow aboard any flight; you never know when you’ll be forced to use your seat as a temporary hotel room.

Related Stories:
· 47 Trapped On 'Nightmare' Flight to the Twin Cities [StarTribune]
· Pilot Dies Mid-Flight Aboard Continental Transatlantic Flight 61 [Jaunted]
· Travel Hell coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Memotions]

4 Comments

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Return to » Passengers Forced To Be Cramped Campers Aboard Regional Jet

  1. portcolumbus

    Jaunted Member

    Solution Needed

    I am against all government interaction in the private sector, but something needs to be done. Everyone blames the airlines but I think part of the problem is the difficulty that the different air authorities (airports, FAA, TSA, etc.) place on the airlines that forces airlines to decide to keep everyone on board and uncomfortable. Anyway, something needs to be done. 30 minutes should be the max ground time. I think the biggest problem is with the current boarding process. If airlines told everyone to go in, sit down, and shut up, boarding could easily be completed for regional-737/A320s in 10-15 minutes. Have al fuel, food, etc. on board. Boarding processes take far too long, which usually leads to the delays that we passengers experience in the air. When people start taking forever boarding the plane I usually yell at them and say "you'll be able to get your bag in 10 minutes when we get up in the air...sit down and shut the f up"....i make lots of friends when i fly :)
    August 10, 2009 at 9:21 AM
    #Permalink

  1. Victor Ozols

    Jaunted Editor

    Ridiculous

    There's no excuse for keeping people incarcerated like this in unsanitary conditions. The captain of that Continental flight clearly lacks the wisdom to be in such a position of authority. This is an act of criminal stupidity. The babies may have begun to smell bad, but think about how they must have felt! If I had been on that plane with my toddler, I would have called 911 repeatedly until they were forced to arrest me. Anything to get the hell out of there.
    August 10, 2009 at 10:01 AM
    #Permalink

  1. kjb

    Jaunted Contributing Editor

    The Little Plane Makes It Worse

    Even if you stand up in the aisle you still have to crouch to fit. Not like being on a 747 would make the whole experience better, but these regional jets are for short hauls only--not for overnight RV trips.

    Calling 911 is actually a good idea, or faking a medical emergency. Not that I would do that...

    August 10, 2009 at 10:06 AM
    #Permalink

  1. Omri

    Jaunted Member

    This Is A TSA Issue

    Airport security requirements are crafted in the dumbest ways possible, both because TSA personnel genuinely can't be trusted as anything but automatons and because the fear of offending constituents prevents smart, targeted regulations. The result is a bevy of dumb, go-through-the-motions bureaucratic nonsense that takes away the option for common sense because the people in charge *have none*. If we had a slightly smarter system manned by slightly smarter people, there would be room to say "OK, well obviously this is a place where we can make an exception."
    August 10, 2009 at 1:58 PM
    #Permalink

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