By Joan Lowy

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Being stuck for hours on a stuffy, stinky plane at the airport was supposed to be a thing of the past, thanks to the government's threat of huge fines against the airlines. Well, dream on.

Last weekend's weather stranding of hundreds of travelers, some for as long as seven hours, on an airport tarmac in Connecticut proves that the effectiveness of federal rules designed to protect passengers from such ordeals is limited, say industry officials and consumer advocates. Industry officials said the tarmac delays appear to prove the point they've been making all along - that they're often powerless to prevent such incidents.

Under Transportation Department rules that went into effect in April 2010, most tarmac delays at U.S. airports are limited to three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. Exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security or if air traffic control advises the pilot that returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.

But a consumer advocate with airline industry experience says that despite the risk of fines as high as $27,500 per passenger, at least one airline - JetBlue Airways - apparently didn't make the kinds of arrangements most carriers make to protect passengers from hours and hours of sitting in cramped airline seats with little food and limited bathrooms.

A rare October snowstorm and equipment problems at Newark's Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport forced 23 planes to divert to the smaller Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn. Passengers on at least three JetBlue planes and one American Airlines flight from Paris reported being confined for seven hours or more. Food and water ran out, toilets backed up and tempers snapped.

The captain of JetBlue Flight 504, which was diverted en route to Newark from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., begged for help to get his plane to a gate.

"I have a paraplegic onboard that needs to come off. I have a diabetic on here that's got an issue. It's a list of things. I just gotta get some help," the captain can be heard pleading with authorities over his radio on audio provided by LiveATC.net.

The Transportation Department said in a statement that it is investigating whether JetBlue's handling of Flight 504 violated the department's three-hour limit on how long airlines can hold passengers in planes on the tarmac or face fines.

JetBlue spokeswoman Alison Croyle declined to comment on the pilot's remarks or whether the airline had arrangements in place in case of a diversion to Bradley.

the rules

Under federal rules that went into effect in April 2010, most tarmac delays at U.S. airports are limited to three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights.

Copyright 2011 Virginian-Pilot Companies LLCAll Rights Reserved