Weather, Crew Rest Rules, And Airline Regulations All Played A Role

When an ExpressJet flight from Houston to Minneapolis-St. Paul, on a codeshare with Continental, was diverted due to thunderstorms to Rochester, MN, the weather quickly became the least of the 47 passenger's concerns.

Once on the ground at Rochester about 2300, it was determined that the crew could not complete the flight and be legal for time in the air. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that ExpressJet looked into chartering a bus to take them to the Twin Cities, but that did not work out, and they were not allowed to disembark into the airport because TSA personnel had all gone home, and the passengers could not be re-screened for security. Ground service personnel at Rochester did not offer allowing the passengers to enter the transient area of the terminal as an option, according to ExpressJet spokesperson Kristy Nicholas.

So the 47 passengers sat on the 50 seat regional jet.

All night.

Passengers told the paper that it wasn't long before the lavatory was overused and reeking, and small children were upset and crying. There was no food offered, other than the small bag of pretzels handed out in flight.

The doors of the plane finally opened at about 0600, and the passengers were allowed to enter the terminal. They were given one complementary beverage. At about 0930, they were put back on the same, still-unserviced airplane and flown on to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Arriving about 12 hours behind schedule.

Expressjet Spokesperson Nicholas said the airline apologizes for the incident, but that passenger safety and legal requirements of the airline were the priorities driving decisions.

FMI: www.expressjet.com