OTHER OPINIONS : Airline passengers need more protections

By Billings (Mont.) Gazette

Posted: August 26, 2009 at 5:06 a.m.

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BILLINGS, Mont. — Can you imagine this? Your flight touches down and taxis to a stop. But your airline crew doesn't prepare for passengers to deplane. Instead, they inform you and dozens of other people on the aircraft that you must stay put until it is safe to leave.

You wait and wait and wait. : Six hours later, you are allowed to get off the plane.

These horrible situations don't happen every day. But they should not be allowed to happen at all. This six-hour nightmare in a Continental Express plane occurred this month on the tarmac in Rochester, Minn.

It has triggered renewed calls for overdue action in Congress to pass the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights that's been kicking around for years. :

The bill of rights legislation is included in the FAA Reauthorization bill, which was moved through the Commerce Committee in July. It still awaits action by the full Senate. :

There are hundreds of rules that protect passengers and crew members when planes are in the air. A few more guidelines to protect them when they're on the ground seem to be in order.

- Billings (Mont.) Gazette

Opinion, Pages 6 on 08/26/2009

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