I've been stuck on a/c on the tarmac for hours several times, almost always due to horrendous weather delays. Usually outbound, but occasionally inbound. At DFW one time we landed in a storm gap, but had no available gate. Persistent lightning kept stopping ground ops, so we sat there like muppets for 3 hours...... The sole consolation was that the crew, front and back, were stuck in exactly the same situation, with the same lack of desire to be there....
The most similar to this Rochester thing that happened to me personally was a very late night divert on an already very delayed BA outbound from JFK to LHR. Long story, but we ended up landing at Montreal at about 2.30 am. Down, and taxi to some holding area (nowhere near a terminal) - and then the skipper comes on the PA to say that Montreal is now shut and, as there are no immigration personnel on duty, we have to remain on the a/c (in sub-zero temperatures......) until they turn up. Which they do shortly before 6.00am.... when we are eventually taken to hotels until the a/c can be fixed. Although again the crew were every bit as stuck as we were, in this case the cabin crew were a disgrace - they basically just gave up, announced that there was nothing left to eat or drink, gathered up front and remained there - bitching loudly - for the duration. Flight deck crew never emerged, but did give regular updates and apologies.
With the CO at Rochester, I'm slightly puzzled. The suggestion is that the passengers and crew could physically have de-planed, but the issue would then be whether they were or were not in a restricted area. Question - do we know whether the flight crew remained in the a/c for the duration? If so, OK: in that circumstance you - SLF - have to defer to their authority and judgement on the spot (though I have vowed next time this happens to me to take the "Irish Solution" mentioned above!). But, unless the PIC has somehow managed to leave the a/c, then he or she remains as PIC - and surely **as Commander** he or she could and should have done more, much more for the safety and comfort of the passengers and crew. Why - seemingly - no calls to the local cops, the fire guys? No call to local radio or TV stations - who I'm sure would have loved to put out an all points to anyone still awake with any sense of responsibility or authority.... I don't think - from the limited evidence - that the PIC made every possible effort here.
That said, I'm always amazed to think how flight crews have to deal with these endless, intensely frustrating and uncomfortable delays. To be stopped and messed around for hours and then, perhaps, just have to turn on the fully pro approach to getting the a/c airborne, turning on a mental dime. I really do think that it's a very special kind of skill, and I'm grateful that all the guys and gals up front have it!
But that's why I'm really wondering if this Rochester PIC dropped the responsibility ball (or whether of course there is much more to the tale....).
AGB