Don’t weep for the airlines

San Jose Mercury News: Pay no heed to the crocodile tears shed by the airline industry. The Obama administration order protecting passengers from being held hostage on grounded planes for more than three hours is perfectly reasonable. It will cause the airlines a lot less misery than they’ve been causing trapped families held on their airless tubes for five, six, seven hours at a time, often with no real explanation, let alone food and water.

The airlines’ lack of concern for customers has been apparent since the Clinton administration. The industry had a decade to offer some reasonable self-regulation, but all it’s done is fight humane standards. Last week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: Enough. It should have happened years ago, and Congress should pass legislation to prevent the order from being rescinded by a future administration.

Major problem

Transportation officials estimate 1,500 domestic flights a year are left sitting more than three hours on runways, although we tend to hear only about the most egregious — such as the diverted flight that was stuck overnight on the tarmac in Rochester, Minn., last August because airline employees refused to open a terminal gate. The abusive practice has affected 114,000 passengers a year.

Airlines say it has helped avoid delays. No doubt — but we’re confident the industry can find a way to operate efficiently while treating people with respect.