Airports escape passenger rights rules

Most of the versions of the almost-certain-to-be-passed Passenger Bill of Rights that I’ve seen don’t address the airports’ responsibility when there’s a lengthy delay. Makes you wonder if the nation’s airports are getting away with something.

They probably are.

In all of the recent passenger imprisonment incidents, the airports played a significant — if not central — role in keeping the planes trapped on the tarmac. I would not go as far as to say that airlines are being unfairly singled out, but I do think people aren’t getting the whole picture.

That’s a view shared by Brooks Hurd, a reader of this site and a frequent flier. “I believe that the airports have caused or exacerbated the problems with delays,” he wrote in an e-mail today.

I sent a note back: “But how do you fix that?”

His idea is to hold airports to a set of rules as well. Among them:

» Airports must have a policy about getting planes back to gates or to bring buses to parked planes which are the tarmac. (I would go a step further and say that there should be a nationwide standard, and planes should be summoned back to the gate if they are sitting on the runway for too long, whether the airline wants it or not.)

» Airports should have clear signage to direct drivers to their terminal, rental car return, and parking.

» Airports should have clear signage within the airport to direct passengers to check-in, baggage claim, inter-terminal transportation, and departure gates.

» Inter-terminal transportation should be readily available and clearly marked and in operation at least 90 minutes before the first departure and 60 minutes after the last arrival.

» Check in lines should not exceed 20 minutes for non-elite fliers.

» TSA screening lines should be less than 20 minutes. (This is not just the TSA’s problem, since the airport has to provide a location for the TSA to set up, says Hurd.)

How would you punish an airport that doesn’t comply?

Financial penalties wouldn’t work — they’d just be passed along to passengers as higher landing fees. Instead, Hurd suggests restricting future landing slots, which would directly affect the airport’s managers.

I like a lot of these ideas. It’s certainly something to ponder as we contemplate the most effective way of preventing another held-hostage-on-the-runway incident.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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