Airlines told to keep runway delays under three hours

Photo: mspairport.com

In a move set into motion by a planeload of passengers’ overnight stay on the tarmac at Rochester Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the U.S. Transportation Department has ordered airlines to limit such runway waits to three hours.

The action comes less than a month after first-ever fines against airlines for the August incident at RST MSP. The three-hour limit is one of the demands in the Passengers Bill of Rights that travelers’ advocates have seen stall in Congress. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is among the measure’s backers.