AIRLINES, NOT TERRORISTS, HOLDING PASSENGERS HOSTAGE

JOE SHARKEY, NY TIMES - For nearly four hours last Thursday night, Flight 5637, a 50-seat regional jet, was stuck on the ground by bad weather at Kennedy International Airport. The air-conditioning wasn't working, and no one seemed to have a clue about when the plane would take off. . .

What was unusual was that one passenger on the flight, David Ollila, runs a company that makes video cameras the size of a roll of quarters for mountain bikers, skiers and other amateur athletes to attach to their helmets and capture their thrills. And Mr. Ollila had one of those little cameras with him.

He marched up to the plane's front, stood a few feet from the open cockpit door and interviewed the captain, demanding to know why something wasn't being done to get the passengers off the plane.

He got a few replies on camera. Then the police arrived. The passengers all filed off. The flight was canceled. Mr. Ollila said he was questioned inside the airport by the Port Authority police and a Transportation Security Administration officer. After a background check, “they determined I was not a threat,” he said.

He was released without charge. . .

Airline chaos is the travel story of this year. I've written in the past about the efforts of a real estate agent from the San Francisco area, Kate Hanni, who got so motivated after being stranded for eight hours on a plane with overflowing toilets that she now works full-time lobbying for federal legislation to address passengers' rights. Her group has a Web sit. She has also set up a toll-free hotline — (877) 359-3776 — for passengers to phone in their complaints.

The complaints are pouring in. But she says she was most amused by a message from a woman who described herself as a flight attendant and who “seemed to take the airlines' attitude that everything is somehow the fault of the passengers.”

Here is the message:

“I'm a flight attendant, and I just wanted to suggest that passengers not eat and drink while they're sitting on the tarmac because then this lavatory issue comes up. Nobody's going to be hurt by not eating or drinking for a few hours. They should take the sips of water the flight attendants offer and do their part. It's the passengers' duty to be practical. Why eat and drink and worry about having to go to the bathroom?”

Happy flying!

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