FlyersRights.org calls on airlines to adopt health and safety guidelines
FlyersRights.org, the largest airline passenger non-profit organization, was established in early 2007 by Kate Hanni after she was stranded with her husband and two children for 9 hours on the tarmac. Up until that time, airlines could keep passengers stranded in a plane on the tarmac for hours without returning the aircraft to the gate and without providing passengers any food or drink.
Further research by FlyersRights.org then revealed that lengthy tarmac confinements by airlines were not isolated incidents, but affected 150,000 - 250,000 passengers in the US, annually. Such confinements were being used regularly by airlines as a commercial convenience, to prevent “passenger migration” to travel alternatives and reduce refunds.
This all changed after Flyersrights.org lobbied successful in getting legislation passed in 2010, which now allows passengers the option of getting off delayed planes after 3 hours on the ground, and requires passengers to be provided with adequate water, food, temperature, ventilation and working toilets after 2 hours. This rule, known as the 3-hour rule, quickly eliminated 98% of tarmac confinement.
Fast-forward to 2020 and into the COVID-19 scenario, where Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org is calling on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (CAC) to immediately publish best practices for airlines to protect public health and ask member airlines to implement these life-saving measures immediately. He alludes that this is an area where airlines have failed to prioritize the health and safety of passengers and communities.
FlyersRights.org recommends the following measures be required of all member airlines:-
To date, Hudson notes, airlines have been slow to implement health precautions, instead prioritizing revenue and government aid over the needs of passengers and public health. “We call on IATA & the CAC to take bold steps to correct this in order to achieve the public confidence that the airlines seek.” He says.
"To gain the flying public's trust, airlines should also process full refunds during this time to financially disincentivize non-essential travel while the pandemic still claims thousands of lives daily,” Hudson says. “For any country in which an airline receives a bailout or substantial financial assistance from the government, a refusal to make responsible passengers whole via refunds will appear hypocritical and will ultimately further erode public confidence in the airlines' commitment to passenger health and wellbeing.”
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