Pak Airlines fined for flouting consumer protection rules
21 Sep 2012 11:17 PM GMT
The Pakistan International Airlines [PIA] has been slapped with a fine of USD 150,000 by US authorities for keeping passengers aboard a plane during an extended ground delay last year.
This is the first fine for an international flight in violation of the new consumer protection rule of the Department of Transportation, which took effect in August 2011, setting a four-hour limit for tarmac delays on international flights.
The Department of Transportation [DOT] said PIA flight 711, traveling from England's Manchester Airport to New York's JFK Airport, was scheduled to arrive at JFK on 29 October, 2011, but diverted to Washington Dulles Airport due to interruptions in JFK's Instrument Landing System equipment.
After landing at Dulles at, the plane remained on the tarmac for four hours and forty-seven minutes.
Although the captain and first officer were able to safely deplane the aircraft by air stairs in order to conduct external safety inspections of the aircraft, airline officials believed that deplaning passengers by air stairs may have been unsuitable due to the inclement weather, as well as the number of passengers requiring wheelchairs and the number of small children on board.
This is the first fine for an international flight in violation of the new consumer protection rule of the Department of Transportation, which took effect in August 2011, setting a four-hour limit for tarmac delays on international flights.
The Department of Transportation [DOT] said PIA flight 711, traveling from England's Manchester Airport to New York's JFK Airport, was scheduled to arrive at JFK on 29 October, 2011, but diverted to Washington Dulles Airport due to interruptions in JFK's Instrument Landing System equipment.
After landing at Dulles at, the plane remained on the tarmac for four hours and forty-seven minutes.
Although the captain and first officer were able to safely deplane the aircraft by air stairs in order to conduct external safety inspections of the aircraft, airline officials believed that deplaning passengers by air stairs may have been unsuitable due to the inclement weather, as well as the number of passengers requiring wheelchairs and the number of small children on board.
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