A snowstorm that hit the New York area in late October led to a flurry of planes stuck on the tarmac for longer than the federal limits, including three flights on Delta Air Lines.
One of them on that day, Oct. 29, was a Delta flight from Atlanta to Newark that diverted to Hartford, Conn., and was stuck on the tarmac for three hours and 2o minutes.
Atlanta-based Delta also had flights that day from Brussels and Madrid to New York that diverted and ended up stuck on the tarmac for more than four hours.
Delta said it provided food, water and working lavatories as federally required, and on one flight the airline gave out McDonald's burgers and bused passengers to New York.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has had a three-hour limit on tarmac delays for domestic flights since April 2010. For international flights, it has had a four-hour limit on tarmac delays at U.S. airports since August 2011.
The government allows exceptions for reasons related to safety, security or air traffic control.
Delta was among seven airlines who kept passengers on the tarmac for longer than the federal limits in October. On those airlines, there were a total of seven domestic flights with tarmac delays longer than three hours and 11 international flights with tarmac delays longer than four hours, all on Oct. 29 and all bound for New York or Newark.
The DOT said it is investigating all of the reported delays.
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