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Stranded on the Tarmac...What Should You Do If It Happens to You?

Earlier this month, a Continental Airlines flight stranded passengers on the tarmac for 6 hours. A couple weeks after that, passengers on a Sun Country flight also sat on the tarmac for a grueling 6 hours.

For proof that these aren't isolated incidents, you only have to look back in history to similar situations. In 1999, Northwest Airlines stranded a plane on the tarmac for 8 hours. American Airlines also stranded passengers for 8 hours in 2006. In 2007, JetBlue held passengers on the tarmac for 11 hours. In many of these cases, passengers were stuck on planes with no food or water-not to mention terrible odors coming from the cramped airplane bathrooms.

But what can you do if you're on a flight that gets stranded on the tarmac? The information below describes what you can do to be prepared and make sure your voice is heard.

Know Your Rights

As a result of long delays years ago, the Air Transport Association-which includes Delta, United, Continental, Southwest, and other airlines as members-released a Customer Service Plan stating that airlines will:

• Notify passengers of known flight delays and cancellations
• Meet customers' essential needs during long on-aircraft delays
• Allow reservations to be held or tickets to be refunded within 24 hours of purchase
• Be more responsive to customer complaints

The details of the self-governed Customer Service Plan should be posted on each airline's website. So, before you head to the airport, take a minute to review the airline's specific details regarding this plan.

You can check out the Air Transport Association's website for links to specific airlines. If the airline you're flying on isn't listed on that website, you may be able to find a customer's bill of rights on the corporate website. For instance, JetBlue offers a detailed bill of rights on its website for customers.

What Can You Do?

The national debate is gaining momentum and now's the time to make sure your voice is heard. There are a number of ways that you can join the discussion.

You may want to join the effort to put more stringent rules onto the law books. For example, the Coalition for Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights has proposed a set of rights to be written into law, including a requirement that airlines "establish procedures for returning passengers to terminal gate when delays occur so that no plane sits on the tarmac for longer than three hours without connecting to a gate." You can view the proposed Bill of Rights on FlyersRights.org.

In addition, you can sign a Petition for the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights. You can also contact your Senators and Representative in Congress to make sure they take this issue seriously and work to protect airline passengers' rights. If you don't know how to contact your Senators and Representative, you can quickly find their names, telephone numbers, and websites by typing your zip code into the Congressional Directory on CongressMerger.com.

Finally, if you do experience a horror story on the tarmac, you can submit a complaint form to make sure the incident is recorded.

Be Prepared Before You Fly

Before you get on your next flight, visit FlyersRights.org to download and print two important documents that you can carry on the plane.

The first document is the Emergency Kit Document, which lists items you should have handy on your next flight. The second document is the Stranded Passenger Survival Guide, which features information on what you can do if your plane is stranded on the tarmac for an unreasonable amount of time.

It all comes down to taking some time before you fly to know your rights, be prepared, and take part in the conversation. Have a safe, comfortable flight.