[infoshare] [DNNYC] Nat'l Task Force to Develop Model Contingency Plans to Deal w/ Lengthy Airline On-Board Ground Delays.
- From: Rachel <rachel720@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Recipient list suppressed:;
- Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:01:35 -0500
Dear friends,
I am writing to request some information from each of you about a
subject we all love. I am sure that you all know what the tarmac is,
and some of you have probably been delayed on it a few times. For
those of you who are not too sure what I'm talking about, the tarmac
is the asphalt used at airports, and was a term that originated
during the Second World War since one of the ingredients in asphalt
was tar. Last fall there were some horrendous delays caused by
weather, and some of them extended up to and over eight hours in
length. During this time, passengers were held on planes and unable
to be returned to the terminal or to take off on their
trips. Toilets overflowed, water ran out, and there was no food
service (as is pretty common on airlines nowadays anyway). Because
air isn't exchanged, and air conditioning doesn't work, when planes
are on the ground there was a horrible smell and high heat in many of
the planes during those delays.
As I announced at SILC Congress in New Orleans, I have been appointed
to the National Task Force to Develop Model Contingency Plans to Deal
with Lengthy Airline On-Board Ground Delays. That's the technical
term for what we're now calling the Tarmac Delay Task Force. While I
am one of about 40 members, I am the only disability rights
representative and the only designated citizen in this group. The
majority of members are representatives from airlines and air
terminals, high-level representatives, and agency representatives
from the Federal Aviation Administration and similar groups. People
without disabilities are being represented by a single representative
from the Airline Passengers Association, but I intend to overlap on
his turf since many of you don't have significant disabilities but
undoubtedly have great opinions that need to be heard.
I would like you to send me your tales if you have ever been delayed
significantly during a flight, or should I say before and after a
flight, or if you can imagine yourself in the scenario of being
stranded on an airplane for five hours before having to take a
cross-country flight. Since I can't get up and walk to the restroom,
I know what kind of problems that will cause me. People who use
service animals undoubtedly would have similar concerns about their
dogs even if they themselves could get up to use the restroom. People
traveling to some place they can get dialysis or some other type of
infusion treatment that must be given in a timely manner would
probably have major concerns. Finally, what happens when people are
on psychotropic medication or who have psychiatric disabilities and
are unable to deal with the confined spaces and intolerable
atmospheric conditions to develop inside planes during those long waits?
If you give me enough stories, I hope to be able to put together a
short presentation that I can present to this group that will explain
very clearly why this problem must be addressed, and addressed
properly. We will be meeting only four times during a one-year
period, at least that is the plan for now, so it is important to get
these issues out on the table and up for discussion as quickly as
possible. Our goal is to develop some policies and standards to be
used whenever extensive delays begin to occur. Should there be
standards for the amount of time that people can be held outside
terminals without allowing the plane access to the gates? This may
require airlines to shuffle planes around to clear some gates where
delayed flights can be unloaded again, and will undoubtedly wreak
havoc with scheduling. Weather does that, poor traffic control does
that, and oversold flights don't help a bit.
I always figured that people with disabilities are like a canary in
the coal mine. If they can address our issues appropriately, and
assure that we are not inconvenienced or injured through lack of a
decent policy or enforcement of it, then the normal John Q.
businessman traveling public should be able to enjoy air travel of
the future along with us as well.
Please take a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and send them
back to me at my home address above. While I am the Executive
Director of the National Council on Disability, I've been asked to
serve simply as a disability rights advocate on this task force and
the expressions of concern the other members hear will be those of me
and my friends. You are in that circle, whether you know it or like
it or not, so please weigh in on this issue now. If you have a great
idea of a policy that will work, by all means share that too, as that
will simplify our work and maybe we can all go home happy after the
first meeting.
I am beefing up my computer and look forward to hearing from all of
you very soon. Our first meeting is February 26, so whatever you
give me by next week will be included in my presentation. Even if I
hear from you later, you can count on your voice being heard.
Thank you in advance,
Mike
Mike Collins
4001 9th St N, Apt 1123
Arlington, VA 22203
Cell 202-302-2200
Hm 571-527-0620
Wk 202-272-2004
unklmike@xxxxxxxxxxx
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