Held Hostage by the Airlines

In the past if you got on the airplane and there were technical issues, you were at the mercy of the cabin crew. You were stuck on that plane until the mechanical, computer or technical problem was resolved. The pilot would give you updates every ten minutes about how it would be only another ten minutes before take off. Those ten minutes can quickly add up to one hour though. In some cases people were stuck for hours without food, water or exercise.

Since passengers can no longer bring fluids through security, and since they cannot bring real food through customs on an international flight, passengers would become irate, if held up without relief and stuck on the tarmac for hours at a time.

Factor in getting out of bed at 2 a.m. and a pricey cab ride, and it's no wonder that people have become ill and have had to be removed by first aid attendants or worse, security personnel.

Well finally, a new private member's bill is being considered in Canada. If it's passed, passengers will no longer have to sit on a plane for longer than one hour. They will be allowed to exit the plane.

New York and Europe now have policies where passengers are allowed to leave the plane if the plane does not get off the ground in one hour.

Imagine, a chance to stretch your legs, eat, drink, and use the washroom! This should prevent further incidents. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would think it's okay to keep people couped up in a small metal tube for hours at a time. This policy is long overdue in Canada. Humans were not meant to be locked up and sitting in one tiny spot, for any length of time. It's not even allowed in workplaces now, why should it be allowed on an aircraft?

Besides the mental implications, being chained to the seat can cause thrombosis, a blood clot that forms in the legs and can have potentially fatal results.

Are we even considering that if they can't fix a problem in under an hour, do you really want to be on a plane with major technical problems? I sure know I don't! The plane might crash if it actually gets off the ground! Let me off and I'll take a later flight thank you very much!

Oh I just realized, being couped up in the airport terminal building all day, well that's just a whole other issue!