Airlines fail in effort to stall rule on tarmac time limit

WASHINGTON - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday that he had rejected requests from five airlines for temporary exemptions to a new federal rule that will fine carriers for keeping passengers waiting on taxiways for more than three hours.

The airlines include US Airways Group Inc., which sought an exemption for its Philadelphia operations.

The rule goes into effect Thursday. The department has said airlines may be fined up to $27,500 per passenger for each violation.

The rule, announced in December, prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting a plane to remain on the airfield at large and medium-size hub airports for more than three hours without letting passengers get off the plane.

The rule also requires that passengers be provided with working toilets and, after two hours, food and drinking water.

JetBlue Airways Corp., Delta Air Lines Inc., American Airlines, and Continental Airlines Inc. all asked for an exemption for operations in the New York area. US Airways asked for the exemption on its flights leaving Philadelphia International Airport.

The carriers said that without the requested exemptions, large numbers of flights in the New York area would be canceled, causing even greater inconvenience for passengers.

Congestion in New York has a ripple effect on operations at airports across the country, accounting for a large share of flight delays on any given day.

One reason the exemption requests were turned down was that the department concluded airlines could minimize delays by rerouting or rescheduling flights at JFK to allow the airport's other three runways to absorb the extra traffic.

The department also noted that it has the ability to take into account the effect of the JFK runway closure when deciding whether to fine airlines for not complying with the three-hour rule.