United Airlines fined $1.9 million for long ground delays
United Airlines has been fined $1.9 million over 25 flights in which the plane sat on the ground for several hours, the largest fine imposed by the government for such long delays.
The Transportation Department said Friday that the incidents occurred between December 2015 and February of this year. More than 3,200 passengers were trapped on planes without being given a chance to disembark, the department said.
In a consent order, United said most of the delays involved diversions caused by severe weather. The airline said it was a small number of the nearly 8 million operated by United and its United Express affiliates over the fiveyear span.
United was ordered to pay $950,000. The airline was given credit of $750,000 for compensating passengers on delayed flights and $200,000 for the cost of developing a tool to improve management of diverted flights.