Tarmac delay
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Dublin
Posts: 987
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tarmac delay
FR from DUB to LIS this morning. Fog in LIS earlier overcast now. Delays at LIS reducing.
My question. Why would FR board us onto an aircraft where they knew there was going to be a 2.5 hour delay and leave us there where there is, as stated by the pilot, no prospect of the delay improving or an earlier departure slot? Surely it would be better to leave PAX in the terminal building where they have more room and access to facilities. Are there any policies in place for passengers in this situation. For example at what point do they have to return to gate or offer food etc Thank you for your help.
My question. Why would FR board us onto an aircraft where they knew there was going to be a 2.5 hour delay and leave us there where there is, as stated by the pilot, no prospect of the delay improving or an earlier departure slot? Surely it would be better to leave PAX in the terminal building where they have more room and access to facilities. Are there any policies in place for passengers in this situation. For example at what point do they have to return to gate or offer food etc Thank you for your help.
The captain may have been "managing expectations" and telling you the worse case scenario, whilst hoping for a slot improvement.
TBH unless some clearly catastrophic is happening en-route/at destination in situations such as this the crew are almost always best placed getting the doors closed and telling ATC they are ready, just in case a early slot appears, rather than having the passengers disperse around the terminal.
I note you ask about returning to the gate - did you remote hold (i.e; taxi then stop somewhere on the airport) prior to departure? Sometimes the gate you are departing from is needed for a scheduled inbound aircraft , so you taxi on schedule, then remote hold awaiting your slot..that can happen with many airlines, especially at busy airports.
TBH unless some clearly catastrophic is happening en-route/at destination in situations such as this the crew are almost always best placed getting the doors closed and telling ATC they are ready, just in case a early slot appears, rather than having the passengers disperse around the terminal.
I note you ask about returning to the gate - did you remote hold (i.e; taxi then stop somewhere on the airport) prior to departure? Sometimes the gate you are departing from is needed for a scheduled inbound aircraft , so you taxi on schedule, then remote hold awaiting your slot..that can happen with many airlines, especially at busy airports.
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: world
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
As wiggy says. It's happened to me quite a few times (not RYR btw) and only once did we have to actually await our original delayed slot time. When the crew report "ready" to ATC, a "ready" message is sent to the flow regulation unit. There's always a chance that another aircraft (not necessarily at the same airport) has had to relinquish their slot for some reason or other. That slot will then be re-allocated to an aircraft with a later slot but which is ready to go at short notice. And so, you slowly move up the line.
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sussex
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The simple answer is doing everything humanly possible to minimize the delay and disruption, not only to you and your fellow passengers but also (assuming the aircraft is likely to be scheduled for another 5 sectors) the 900+ passengers that are due to use this aircraft later in the day. The only time you are guaranteed handling staff for boarding/loading is prior to your flights scheduled time, and equally passenger behavior dictates that it causes more disruption with the off the aircraft rather than on. If you were offloaded/delayed boarding, the boarding process that usually takes 15-20 minutes is likely to take at least 45 with the two above factors, and then there will be a percentage of passengers that go missing for one reason or the other, and of course they are the ones likely to have a bag in the hold so that's another 15 minutes at least.
By boarding on time you can send a ready message once everyone's on board, definitely, have staff and facilities to do this, and reduce the risk of other delays which may result in you missing a slot (and then further delay to over 1000 people). The pilot saying that there is no chance is done by someone's experience (either his or ops), and also like said before a way of managing expectation, of course, weather can change, and all the sudden the slots disappear...then what? 189 passengers are likely all over the terminal, and it will take at least another 60 minutes to coral everyone back on the aircraft
By boarding on time you can send a ready message once everyone's on board, definitely, have staff and facilities to do this, and reduce the risk of other delays which may result in you missing a slot (and then further delay to over 1000 people). The pilot saying that there is no chance is done by someone's experience (either his or ops), and also like said before a way of managing expectation, of course, weather can change, and all the sudden the slots disappear...then what? 189 passengers are likely all over the terminal, and it will take at least another 60 minutes to coral everyone back on the aircraft
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Dublin
Posts: 987
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for your replies everyone.
We remained seated in the aircraft at the gate with the doors closed for three hours. Pushback was three hours after the doors closed. No refreshments were offered during the delay. Cabin Crew were professional. Regular announcements concerning the delay were made.
RYR staff did the boarding. Boarding was on time with passengers held for a while outside between the gate and roadway in front of the aircraft.
We remained seated in the aircraft at the gate with the doors closed for three hours. Pushback was three hours after the doors closed. No refreshments were offered during the delay. Cabin Crew were professional. Regular announcements concerning the delay were made.
RYR staff did the boarding. Boarding was on time with passengers held for a while outside between the gate and roadway in front of the aircraft.
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: world
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No refreshments were offered during the delay.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Dublin
Posts: 987
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No water or anything else was offered and we were not invited to purchase anything. If we were waiting in the terminal building I’d probably have expected a light refreshment voucher (is this a regulation) but not sure what rules apply once you are onboard. No quibble with the staff onboard.
I had recently a similar experience with Easyjet in Berlin. A significant number of passengers (I'd say 30+) asked to deboard as they were booked for a round-trip same day business meeting. After discussing with the captain they were allowed to (no hold luggage and obviously no way to retake the flight). I found this surprisingly sensible 👍
Hmm on this occasion it clearly did not seem SOP. Doors were closed and they had to arrange ground staff to walk the passengers back to the (closeby) terminal.
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: world
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No water or anything else was offered and we were not invited to purchase anything.
Few years ago we were EZY from Stansted to somewhere in Europe and the night before the French ATC, bless them, went on strike.
Duly arrived first sector of the day and surprised to find the aircraft boarded on time, although there was a pre boarding announcement that the aircraft would be delayed. pulled off gate and taxied to remote stand and parked up. the crew offered free water and soft drinks but not food as 'we could get a take off imminent call'. and we did delay of approx 45mins so quite happy, pilot got the foot down and we were only late by 10 minutes.
Another was Air Transat from Vancouver to Gatwick, all at the gate at time and so was the aircraft. however a call there would be a delay as the chariot was broken and the part was being flown in on a scheduled Transat flight from Toronto, The spare part landed and the aircraft stopped behind out aircraft and the part, think it was the Captains coffee maker, was dropped off to the mechanic and he entered the cabin, we boarded 10 min later and off into the wild blue yonder. Tannoy's were excellent and advised the customers NOT to travel too far away with regular expect boarding calls. Everyone was back in time
Last was Toronto, first blizzard of the season and the runway was reduced capacity, several flights were heavily delayed or even cancelled. we were Westjet and FR24 showed our aircraft was in Montreal and to Position to Toronto and do the Gatwick flight. However due to the weather our inbound was delayed by 5 hours and we got free snack voucher and a great cheer went up when the aircraft arrived, loaded, taxi to de ice and away, overall delayed by 4 hours and upon arrival handed a letter confirming the weather delay for our travel insurance needs
What I am saying is that airlines do want to keep the customers happy and do what they can to make a situation bearable
Duly arrived first sector of the day and surprised to find the aircraft boarded on time, although there was a pre boarding announcement that the aircraft would be delayed. pulled off gate and taxied to remote stand and parked up. the crew offered free water and soft drinks but not food as 'we could get a take off imminent call'. and we did delay of approx 45mins so quite happy, pilot got the foot down and we were only late by 10 minutes.
Another was Air Transat from Vancouver to Gatwick, all at the gate at time and so was the aircraft. however a call there would be a delay as the chariot was broken and the part was being flown in on a scheduled Transat flight from Toronto, The spare part landed and the aircraft stopped behind out aircraft and the part, think it was the Captains coffee maker, was dropped off to the mechanic and he entered the cabin, we boarded 10 min later and off into the wild blue yonder. Tannoy's were excellent and advised the customers NOT to travel too far away with regular expect boarding calls. Everyone was back in time
Last was Toronto, first blizzard of the season and the runway was reduced capacity, several flights were heavily delayed or even cancelled. we were Westjet and FR24 showed our aircraft was in Montreal and to Position to Toronto and do the Gatwick flight. However due to the weather our inbound was delayed by 5 hours and we got free snack voucher and a great cheer went up when the aircraft arrived, loaded, taxi to de ice and away, overall delayed by 4 hours and upon arrival handed a letter confirming the weather delay for our travel insurance needs
What I am saying is that airlines do want to keep the customers happy and do what they can to make a situation bearable
But if the aircraft is still on the ground, aren't the 'stores' supposed to be sealed? Certainly no alcohol would be allowed to be purchased, and LCC have specific rules as to what they can and can't do in case of delay. Remember that FR and EZY (and others) are not legacy carriers and what you might be used to on one carrier may not be the same on others. Didn't you bring any water (bought airside) or nibbles on board yourself? Surely the best way to cope with the unexpected!
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: world
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Alsacienne: Firstly, no one mentioned alcohol. Secondly, water supplies are not customs sealed. Thirdly, there is no requirement to bring your own refreshments on board in anticipation of a 3 hour delay. It is NOT unreasonable to expect an airline to, at the very least, offer water when taking a 3 hour delay off gate. As I said, it's happened to me (with a German LCC) and we were given water or fruit juice during the delay (which was only just over an hour.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Dublin
Posts: 987
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I was not aware of anyone asking for water or refreshments. It was early morning and the cabin was at a comfortable temperature. Three or four updates from
the flight deck meant passengers knew what was going on and everyone appeared to accept the situation we were in. Personally I would have preferred if Ryanair had offered passengers complimentary water or juice. Many slept, If it was later in the day things might have been different. By the time we arrived in Lisbon we had been in our seats over 6 hours. At some point perhaps advice on exercise to prevent DVT should be offered?
the flight deck meant passengers knew what was going on and everyone appeared to accept the situation we were in. Personally I would have preferred if Ryanair had offered passengers complimentary water or juice. Many slept, If it was later in the day things might have been different. By the time we arrived in Lisbon we had been in our seats over 6 hours. At some point perhaps advice on exercise to prevent DVT should be offered?
So, nobody asked for water. Maybe they weren't thirsty. As for advice on exercise, cabin crew aren't your mother or your nanny.
it'sa delay. Not a major event. You were kept informed. Live with it.
it'sa delay. Not a major event. You were kept informed. Live with it.
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: world
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
it'sa delay. Not a major event. You were kept informed. Live with it.