New federal system warning the length of time commercial airliners making domestic flight are allowed to sit on the tarmac while passengers are on board take effect today.

Below the system, first announced in December 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) can impose fines of up to $27,500 per passenger on airlines that strand passengers in planes on the tarmac for more than 3 hours.


The new rule Enhancing Airline Passenger protection also requires airlines to offer adequate food and drinking water for passengers in 2 hours of the aircraft being delayed on the tarmac and to maintain operable lavatories and, if needed, give medical attention.

On April 22, the DOT without requests from JetBlue, Delta, Continental, American and US Airways to be temporarily exempted from the anti-stranding rule at often-congested airports as well as New York's JFK and LaGuardia airports, Newark International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.

"Passengers on flights late on the tarmac have a right to know they will not be held aboard a plane indefinitely," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in denying the requests. "This is an important consumer protection, and we believe it should take effect as planned."

In denying the requests, DOT said the airlines should deal with delay at busy airports by rerouting or rescheduling flights, quite than by stranding passengers on planes.

DOT also noted that it had the latitude to believe the impact of individual runway closure and possible harm to passengers when deciding whether to implement the anti-stranding policy and setting the amount of fines.

Students traveling this summer have an additional choice to take them to the New Orleans airport. A newly-opened private shuttle services, called Tiger Airport Shuttle, offer transportation from Baton Rouge to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans worldwide Airport and back.

Terry Leon, owner of Tiger Airport Shuttle, said the shuttle service is cheaper than choice airport service offered.


It expenses about $135 for a one-way taxi, Leon said. "We offer a lower price than taxi since multiple passenger share a nine-passenger van."

He said the shuttle service expenses $69.95 to take a student to or from LSU to the New Orleans Airport or $39.95 to or from the home office on Andrea Drive. Andrew Roberts, biology junior from California, said he often tries to fly out of New Orleans since the New Orleans airport offer more direct flights.

It's often hard to get a ride from a friend, and a taxi is very expensive. The new shuttle is incredible I will think,” Roberts said.

Student Government offered a shuttle service most recent semester to and from the Baton Rouge and New Orleans airports during Thanks giving and Christmas holidays. students paid $20 for roundtrip service toward New Orleans through the holidays.

Noah Miller, former SG executive of transportation, said the holiday shuttle went well last semester.

Miller thought service is geared in the direction of holiday transportation and will not be accessible around finals. He said SG is looking into offering the service again during the 2010 Thanks giving and Christmas holidays.

An electrical fire required a cargo plane's pilots to try an emergency landing in a Philippine rice field when the aircraft burst into flames, killing 3 of its six squad,said Thursday.

The Russian-made Antonov-12 airplane was flying from Mactan in the middle Philippines and crashed behind Wednesday in the field concerning 35 kilometers south of Clark airport, the former U.S. air base close to Manila, said Alfonso Cusi, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Firefighters struggled into the night to put out the flames that engulf the airplane after it exploded on crash, ripping the plane into 2 sections, said police Chief Inspector Carlito Fabro.

Villagers manage to rescue 3 crew member 2 Russians and an Uzbek, who suffered bruises and were brought to a hospital in near Mexico township, police said.

3 other crew were originate dead near the cockpit, Cusi said, adding investigators were trying to recognize the burned bodies. A police report said they included 2 Russian ground engineers and a Bulgarian.

"They had a technical problem, and a fire broke out inside the plane," Cusi told The Associated Press. "Their communication signal unexpectedly got garbled then the plane disappeared in the radar."

Police quoted the Russian pilot as saying that the plane encounter electric circuit problem about an hour into the flight, and a fire that broke out compulsory him to make an emergency landing on the open field. The airplane was charter by shipping company UPS Inc. from its owner, Interisland Airlines of the Philippines, police said.

A close call between a United Airlines flight passing San Francisco International Airport and a Cessna 182 over the weekend has the aviation world busy try to figure out what happen that allowed the 2 airplanes to get so close. According to the pilots, the airplane came in an estimated 300 feet of all other. Both aircraft were communicate with the control tower at the time.


The National Transport Safety Board has released the audio from the control tower that include the message between the tower, the United 777 bound for Beijing and the Cessna. The NTSB is investigating the incident and said in a report it is taking "strong events to make sure something like does not occur in the future."

It is schedule and legal for small aircraft to fly near big airports such as San Francisco International. A lot of large airports, including Los Angeles International, have published routes known as a VFR corridors that permit smaller aircraft to carefully navigate through the busy airspace.

Aviation authority and veteran flight coach Max Trescott does a great job of explaining the occurrence with an analysis of the airspace policy surrounding the area. As Trescott explain, the organizer was in contact with both airplanes, but it is unclear whether or not the commands were given in a timely enough manner.

It appear the pilots of the United briefly level off their departure behind their onboard traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) alert them to the Cessna’s location. In the audio, the controller can be heard handing off the United flight to the next air traffic controller, representing nothing unusual had occurred. The United pilot replies that the incident had set off the TCAS and follow up with, "we need to talk," representing something more serious had occurred.

The NTSB will possible take more than a few months to look into the incident before releasing a final statement.