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American, Delta, Continental and Jetblue Argue to Allow Tarmac Delays Over Three Hours

April 29 is the big day! That's the date that the US government's new 3-hour tarmac delay rules go into effect, fining airlines $27,500 per passenger that sits on the tarmac for over three hours and more. Right now however, four major airlines have asked the Department of Transportation if they can be exempt from the rules. We're talking about Jetblue, Delta, Continental, and American, although we expect a few others to protest by the end of this week too.

All of them are filing for temporary exemptions, so it's not like they are in favor of keeping passengers hostage on their planes and getting away with it. They blame the runway construction at JFK, which closes a major runway at the overcrowded airport and causes an airline's on-time rating to drop. We understand, to a point, but if the DOT grants them the exemption, we hope that it's only valid for JFK. Otherwise we could see more 16-hour "Flightmares" without relief.

Related Stories:
· American Airlines Wants Exemption from Tarmac Rule [AP]
· The Top Five Easiest Ways to Survive a Tarmac Delay [Jaunted]
· Delta, Jetblue Request Exemption from Tarmac Delay Rule [CNN]
· The DOT Looks Out for Air Travelers with New Delay and Complaint Rules [Jaunted]
· Airline delays [Jaunted]

[Photo: Brian Daniel Eisenberg]