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All of the largest US airlines have been fined before by the Department of Transportation for violating the tarmac delay rules. In 2023, American Airlines was fined a record-breaking $4.1 million for holding 43 domestic flights on the tarmac for lengthy periods without giving passengers a chance to deplane between 2018 and 2021, according to the DOT.
In 2021, United Airlines was fined $1.9 million for holding 20 domestic flights and five international flights on the tarmac at various US airports for a “lengthy” amount of time without giving passengers a chance to deplane, according to the DOT.
Delta and Southwest Airlines have also faced the consequences for holding fliers on the tarmac too long. Delta was fined $750,000 in March 2019 for 11 flights delayed for hours on the tarmac between January 2017 and February 2018; most of those delays were connected to a power outage in Atlanta, Delta’s main hub. Southwest was fined $1.6 million in 2015 for hours-long tarmac delays of 16 aircraft at Chicago’s Midway Airport.
Are these delays happening more often?
Unfortunately for passengers, as global temperatures continue to get hotter, tarmac delays will likely happen more often. “During the hottest parts of the day, 10 to 30 percent of fully loaded planes may have to remove some fuel, cargo or passengers, or else wait for cooler hours to fly,” says a 2017 study from Columbia University’s Climate School.
“Higher temperatures make air less dense, so planes need to generate more lift,” says a recent article from Columbia University’s Climate School. “In some cases, they might not have enough runway to achieve the necessary speed. Or they may be forced to reduce the weight they are carrying.”
That means potentially more tarmac delays as crew realize after boarding the plane is too heavy and begin to bump passengers from flights, remove cargo from the luggage hold, and make other adjustments. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that “high temperatures may also limit how long ground crews can work outside,” Columbia reports, which means that adjustments to cargo weight—or even normal luggage-loading procedures—could be delayed as well.
