JetBlue Airways has asked US regulators for a temporary exemption to tarmac delay rules at John F Kennedy (JFK) International airport during the closure of the facility's longest runway for repaving.
The request comes after the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in December 2009 finalised a rule governing tarmac delays following several highly-publicised incidents that left passengers stranded for extended periods of time.
Effective 29 April 2010, the rule prohibits US carriers operating domestic flights from allowing an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than 3h without deplaning passengers. Exceptions to the rule include safety and security issues, or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
Since DOT issued that rule, JFK shut runway 13-31 as part of a larger delay reduction programme at the airport. Runway 13-31 handles more than half of JFK's departures but is closed from 1 March through 29 June. The runway will partially reopen between 1 July and 15 November but will not fully reopen until 16 November.
To account for the closure, the airport intends to utilise its remaining three runways at full capacity. But delays are possible given that runway 13-31 - the second longest commercial landing strip in the USA - handles 41% of JFK's total traffic. "It is the preferred east-west runway, and the impact of its complete closure cannot be discounted," JetBlue tells US regulators.
New York-based JetBlue says it has implemented a "voluntary and significant reduction in planed flight operations" and implemented guidelines for passenger comfort as a means to minimise the impact of the runway closure. The low-cost carrier is also informing passengers before boarding that significant delays are possible due to the runway closure, and is stocking its aircraft with food and beverages in case of lengthy delays. Lavatories will also be available and LiveTV will be provided to passengers.
Despite these measures, JetBlue says immunity from the new tarmac rules "is necessary to ensure that JetBlue is not penalised if JFK becomes gridlocked at peak operating times".
The exemption is needed given the airline's presence at the airport, JetBlue says, noting that it accounted for nearly 42% of all JFK passengers between November 2008 and October 2009.
JetBlue's request comes as the DOT has fined carriers for highly-publicised tarmac delays. In November 2009, the department levied a $100,000 fine against ExpressJet and its partner Continental Airlines after passengers on an 8 August 2009 flight remained inside an aircraft on the tarmac for 6h. Mesaba Airlines, the ground handler at Minnesota's Rochester International airport, was fined $75,000 for its role in the incident.
JetBlue in February of 2007 was the subject of scrutiny after some of its passengers at JFK were stranded on the tarmac for up to 10h after a snowstorm.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
