Airlines fined for stranding plane in Rochester

Continental, ExpressJet and Mesaba were fined a total of $175,000 in the overnight stay aboard a plane in Rochester.

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: November 24, 2009 - 8:16 PM

Fines totaling $175,000 were levied Tuesday against three airlines involved in the stranding of dozens of ExpressJet passengers overnight on the tarmac in Rochester aboard a regional airliner in August. The federal fines, agreed to by Continental, ExpressJet and Mesaba, are the first for any carrier for lengthy tarmac delays.

The Department of Transportation fined Continental Airlines and ExpressJet a total civil penalty of $100,000 for their roles in the incident Aug. 8 on Continental Express Flight 2816. The Continental flight was operated by ExpressJet. Mesaba was assessed a civil penalty of $75,000. That airline provided ground handling for the flight.

Forty-seven passengers spent the night on the small plane, parked at the Rochester airport, complete with crying babies and the smell of overused toilets. Continental issued full refunds and offered additional compensation.

The federal investigation found that all three carriers violated a law that prohibits unfair and deceptive practices in air transportation. The flight from Houston to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport had been diverted to Rochester because of bad weather in Minneapolis.

The plane reached Rochester about 12:30 a.m. and passengers were stranded aboard until 6:15 a.m., when they were allowed into the terminal.

By about 9:30 a.m., the passengers were sent back onto the same plane they had spent the night in, which by this time had no functioning restroom. They landed in the Twin Cities about 11 a.m.

Before being diverted to Rochester, ExpressJet had contacted Mesaba personnel at Rochester to request assistance. Mesaba, the only airline staffing the airport at the time, agreed.

Shortly after the flight arrived in Rochester, the ExpressJet captain asked the Mesaba employee handling the flight whether the passengers could enter the terminal. The captain was told that they could not because there were no Transportation Security Administration screeners on duty, even though TSA rules would have allowed passengers to enter the airport if they remained in a secure area.

ExpressJet spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas said Tuesday that her airline settled with federal officials "in order to avoid costly litigation." Nicholas emphasized that Tuesday's action "makes clear that ... ExpressJet consistently requested to deplane customers" and that it was the Mesaba ground handler who mistakenly kept them aboard.

Continental also said it agreed to the fines to limit legal costs and pinned the blame on the Mesaba ground handler.

Mesaba President John Spanjers said his company "continues to feel it operated in good faith by providing voluntary ground-handling assistance to ExpressJet during this delay. However, customer service is paramount and we are reevaluating our policies and procedures for the courtesy handling of other airlines' flights to do our part to mitigate this type of delay."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

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