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There remains an exception whereby planes can sit on a runway for over three hours without being penalized. The exception occurs when a pilot decides, with input from air traffic control, that it is not safe for the plane to move. International airlines are not bound to follow the three hour delay rule, even when taking off from U.S. airports. The following answers common questions concerning this new regulation: • As soon as a plane’s cabin door closes the clock starts ticking on the three hour limit. • As a plane starts to approach the three hour mark it is up to the pilot whether he wants to return to the gate. The clock only stops ticking once the passengers are free to exit the plane. US Airways has informed its pilots to return to the gate after 2 and ½ hours unless takeoff is imminent. Continental is taking a more cautious approach asking it pilots to return to the gate after just two hours. • While passengers are sitting on a runway the airlines are required to provide passengers with food and water. Snacks, such as pretzels, qualify as food and drinks such a bottled water are expected. Planes are also supposed to keep bathrooms in working order. • Airlines can by themselves decide to cancel flights to avoid violating the three hour rule. If your flight is cancelled, the airline’s responsibilities to its passengers depend on why the flight was cancelled. If the cancellation was due to equipment malfunction then the airline is supposed to rebook you on a flight, even if it has to use a different airline, within four hours of the original departure time, if possible. However, if the problem is due to something outside the airline’s control, such as bad weather, the airline has no responsibility other than to place you on whatever future flight it has that has open seats. Last year (prior to the maximum three hour runway rule) 903 flights were delayed over three hours, which equates to one for every 7,143 flights that departed. www.cheapfares.com
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