Airline fined for delays on tarmac

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Transportation said Friday that it fined Frontier Airlines $1.5million for keeping passengers stuck on 12 planes on the Denver airport tarmac for more than three hours amid a snowstorm last December.

But the department said it will forgive $900,000 of that because of compensation the airline paid to the passengers.

The delays came after a storm dropped 8 inches of snow at Denver International Airport on Dec. 16-17.

Passengers were held on the planes for more than the three-hour limit set by law, the Transportation Department said.

The department said Frontier did not have enough staff and did not delay or divert enough flights to alleviate congestion at gates.