Can you imagine this?

Your flight touches down and taxis

to a stop. But your airline crew doesn’t

prepare for passengers to deplane.

Instead, they inform you and dozens of other

people on the aircraft that you must stay put

until it is safe to leave.

You wait and wait and wait. … Six hours

later, you are allowed to get off the plane.

These horrible situations don’t happen every

day. But they should not be allowed to happen

at all.

This six-hour nightmare in a Continental

Express plane occurred this month on the tarmac

in Rochester, Minn.

It has triggered renewed calls for overdue

action in Congress to pass the Airline Passenger

Bill of Rights that’s been kicking around for

years. …

… The bill of rights legislation is included in

the FAA Reauthorization bill, which was

moved through the Commerce Committee in

July.

It still awaits action by the full Senate. …

There are hundreds of rules that protect passengers

and crew members when planes are in

the air.

A few more guidelines to protect them when

they’re on the ground seem to be in order.

-Billings Gazette