Because of the long wait: the USA impose a $225.000 fine on Eurowings

The US Department of Transportation imposed a fine of $23 on July 2019, 225.000 because the airline Eurowings made passengers wait more than six hours to disembark after an alternative landing in Fort Lauderdale.

Actually they wanted to fly from Dusseldorf to Miami under flight number EW1182. Due to weather conditions, the long-haul flight was diverted to Fort Lauderdale. According to the DoT investigation, the Eurowings crew requested that the passengers be disembarked shortly after landing at around 17.15:XNUMX p.m. and taken to the terminal by bus. However, US Customs and Border Protection would only let passengers disembark if their checked baggage could also be unloaded. At the time, there were no ground handlers to assist, so passengers were forced to stay on the plane.

At around 19.15:22 p.m., after the passengers had waited two hours on the plane in Fort Lauderdale, a team of check-in personnel completed the unloading of the luggage. According to the DoT, Eurowings refused assistance in the hope that the weather in Miami would improve and stayed on the runway for the next three and a half hours. At XNUMX p.m., the crew was notified that Miami Airport would remain closed due to the weather.

At the same time, several passengers on board the plane became uneasy and called the police, who eventually allowed the plane to disembark. The 268 passengers were finally released from the plane at 22.50:36 p.m. after being held on the tarmac for a total of five hours and XNUMX minutes.

According to US airline regulations, passengers on international flights must be able to disembark before the tarmac delay is more than four hours.