Air passengers stranded on flight at Conn. airport; US reviewing to see if travel rules broken

LaHood irked over air passengers stranded in Conn.

WASHINGTON — Federal officials are looking into whether any rules were violated when passengers on a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight were stranded for hours aboard a sweltering plane at a Connecticut airport without food or water.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says the incident only reinforces his belief that passengers are entitled to “fair treatment” when they fly.

Bad weather grounded the flight from London to Newark, N.J., at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport on Tuesday night.

A new rule puts a three-hour limit on the time that airlines can keep passengers waiting in planes. But the rule doesn’t apply to foreign airlines. LaHood recently proposed extending the limit to international flights.