Airline passengers trapped for seven hours

Newsworthy  - Hundreds of United passengers say they were locked in “airplane purgatory” for seven hours in Newark while storms raged outside and regulators stayed quiet, capturing how weather and weak oversight now trap ordinary people between the sky and a broken system.

• United Flight 661 sat on the Newark tarmac about seven hours during severe storms and ground stops.
• Federal rules clearly limit tarmac delays, yet the flight was canceled only after passengers spent the night stuck on board.
• Past administrations hit airlines with record fines, but current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has issued none for long tarmac delays.
• Climate change is driving more extreme weather delays, while airlines and regulators struggle to protect passengers caught in the middle.