Stiff Fines Are Set for Long Wait on the Tarmac

The federal government will impose stiff penalties starting this spring on airlines that keep passengers waiting too long on the tarmac without feeding them or letting them off the plane — a remedy that will relieve many travelers but mean longer delays for a few.

Under the rule, airlines that do not provide food and water after two hours or a chance to disembark after three hours will face penalties of $27,500 a passenger, the secretary of transportation announced on Monday.

In recent years, relatively few flights have been held on the ground for more than three hours — about 1,500 a year, or roughly one out of 6,200 flights — but that has been enough to affect more than 100,000 passengers a year and to create substantial public resentment.

“This is President Obama’s Passenger Bill of Rights,” said the secretary, Ray LaHood, using the term favored by proponents of like-minded legislation that is before Congress. The administration’s action does not require Congressional approval.

But the airlines predicted that the rule would create a new set of complications and might force them to put more breathing room into their schedules.