Airplane Hell: Ottawa Runway Delays

Image: blogs.pjstar.com

From The BBC:

The Canadian Transportation Agency is holding an inquiry into two Air Transat flights held on the tarmac at Ottawa for hours in conditions passengers called "deplorable".
[.]
The flights were stranded for between five and six hours without adequate air conditioning, food or water.

Passengers on one flight eventually rang emergency services.

    * Delayed air passengers call 911
    * Air Canada collision avoided 'by 30m'
[.]
More than one passenger testified during the public hearings that they felt they were seen simply as "luggage".
[.]
The bathroom had run out of toilet paper. One young boy [vomited in the aisle and all over several passengers, [.]  [T]he stench was unbearable."
[.]
At one point passengers chanted "open the door, open the door" to cabin crew. The cabin temperature reached upwards of 31C.

And, from the same story above:

Flight staff said food and water were running low but that refreshments were available and temperatures seemed acceptable.

Uh...No...almost 88F degrees in a cigar tube/sardine can is not an acceptable temperature. Of course the staff is going to say the temp seemed acceptable.

Yeesh...how do airlines get away with this behavior?

Okay - here is how you get off the plane if it's stuck on the tarmac and appears you will be there for a long, long time.

What you do is you wait patiently for two hours. After that, you ask a flight attendant how much longer it will be. If they reply they don't know, and that they don't know when they'll know, you tell the attendant - very politely and courteously - that in 30 minutes, the seat in which you are sitting becomes the smoking section.

You will likely be warned that smoking is not allowed. And you nicely explain to the attendant that that warning will expire, in your seat and the area around you, in 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes passes, and you're still on the tarmac, you fire up that cigarette. I guarantee it will get you off the plane. Maybe somewhat forcibly...and you will most likely be fined. But at least your not sitting on the tarmac any longer.