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A 2010 Department of Transportation (DOT) rule that penalizes airlines for making passengers sit for more than three hours on the tarmac did not lead to a long-term increase in canceled flights, according to an audit by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
The OIG’s finding differs from earlier studies, which found that airlines did cancel more flights after the rule went into effect. Earlier studies, however, didn’t examine the rule’s impact after 2012, while the OIG study went through 2014, its authors noted.
The DOT established the tarmac-delay rule in response to pressure from consumer advocates. Under the rule’s provisions, airlines must pay fines each time a plane sits on the tarmac more than three hours after the door closes ahead of departure on domestic flights, and each time a plane sits on the tarmac more than three hours after landing. Fines can be as much as $27,500 per passenger.
As in other studies on the impact of the rule, the OIG found that it has succeeded in reducing long tarmac delays. The percentage of flights with tarmac delays of at least an hour fell by almost half after the rule was put in, and the portion of flights with tarmac delays lasting at least two hours fell by 70.4%
Also like other studies, the OIG found that in the first three years that the rule was in effect, airlines canceled more flights. In specific, the audit showed that on flights in which tarmac delays had been frequent, the cancellation rate increased gradually from 1.82% prior to the rule’s implementation in April 2010 to 1.86% three years later. But over the following 12 months, the cancellation rate on those routes moved slightly below where it was prior to the tarmac delay rule. It then dropped a bit further during the remainder of 2014.
When the tarmac-delay rule was implemented in 2010, airline executives warned that they would cancel more flights rather than face fines for rule violations.
The OIG auditors noted that they are making no policy recommendations in this latest report.
Sourse: travelweekly.com
 rule that penalizes airlines for making passengers sit for more than three hours on the tarmac did not lead to a long-term increase in canceled flights, according to an audit by the Office of… "Pin It")