American Airlines has been fined for keeping passengers on the runway for hours

The US Department of Transportation announced Monday that it has fined American Airlines $4.1 million for illegally keeping passengers stranded on the runway for extended periods of time.

The department said in a statement that American Airlines violated a Department of Transportation rule that prohibits airlines from keeping passengers on board planes due to runway delays of three hours or more. statement. During such delays, airlines are required to allow passengers to disembark from the aircraft.

The fine is the largest civil penalty ever handed down for tarmac delay violations, according to the agency. Passengers are entitled to more than $2.5 billion in refunds related to the delays.

Between 2018 and 2021, 43 domestic US flights stopped on the runway for extended periods without allowing passengers to disembark, a violation of Department of Transportation rules, the agency’s Aviation Consumer Protection Bureau found.

“This is the latest action in our ongoing campaign to enforce the rights of airline passengers,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Whether the problem is severe tarmac delays or problems getting refunds, the Department of Transportation will continue to protect consumers and hold airlines accountable.”

There are exceptions to federal rules intended to prevent airlines from keeping travelers confined to outbound flights. For example, airlines are not required to allow people to disembark if there are legitimate safety reasons to keep them on board. But the Department of Transportation investigation found that none of the exceptions to the runway delay rule applied to the 43 flights in question.

The airline also did not provide customers with the required food or water during the delay, according to the agency. Organizers said most of the delays, which affected nearly 5,800 passengers, occurred at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

“While these delays were the result of exceptional weather events, the flights represent a very small number of the 7.7 million that took place during this time period,” American Airlines told CBS News. “We have since apologized to the affected customers and are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”