Klobuchar hails new tarmac limits

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is hailing new U.S. Department of Transportation rules limiting tarmac stays to three hours.

Klobuchar calls the rules, taking effect Thursday, "a victory for airline passengers everywhere."

She says passengers "can no longer be held captive for hours on end." Airlines that break the rule face a maximum fine of $27,500 per passenger.

The rule also says airlines must provide passengers with working toilets and, after two hours, food and water.

Klobuchar sits on a Senate panel that oversees the air travel system and co-sponsored a Passenger Bill of Rights.

Last August, 47 passengers were stranded on the tarmac overnight after a Continental Express flight was diverted to Rochester, Minn., because of thunderstorms. Two weeks later, a Sun Country Airlines flight kept 150 passengers on the tarmac for nearly six hours.

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