In a precedent-setting punishment and a warning of sorts to U.S. carriers, the U.S. Transportation Department Tuesday fined Continental, ExpressJet and Mesaba for their role in a ground delay that trapped passengers on the plane overnight for nearly six hours.

"I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a DOT press release.

The DOT levied a $50,000 fine on Continental and a $50,000 fine on ExpressJet, which operated the Continental Express flight, for their role in the incident at Rochester Airport in Minnesota. Continental also provided a full refund to each passenger, and offered each passenger additional compensation to "tangibly acknowledge their time and discomfort," the DOT said.

The DOT also assessed a fine of $75,000 against Mesaba Airlines, which provided ground handling for the flight, which had been bound for Minneapolis/St. Paul before diverting to Rochester.

The DOT's Aviation Enforcement Office said its investigation found that all three carriers violated the law that prohibits unfair and deceptive practices.

The DOT said the fines mark its first enforcement orders ever to punish carriers for an extended tarmac delay, as well as the first time a carrier acting as a ground handler for another airline has been punished for failing to properly help passengers leave an aircraft during an unreasonably long tarmac delay.

The fine against Continental also could set a precedent in that it is punishing the carrier for violating promises in its "Customer First" service commitment, which is posted online.

The DOT said Continental argued that those commitments are voluntary - unlike its contract of carriage - and therefore are not subject to the DOT's enforcement authority. Nonetheless, the departure from the customer service commitment became the basis for the DOT's fine against the carrier.

Regarding the flight in question, the DOT said that, prior to diverting to Rochester, ExpressJet contacted Mesaba personnel at Rochester to request assistance at the airport, which Mesaba, the only airline staffing the airport at the time, agreed to provide.

Shortly after the flight arrived in Rochester - and more times after that - the ExpressJet pilot asked the Mesaba employee handling the flight whether the passengers could deplane into the airport terminal, the DOT said. Mesaba told the pilot that passengers could not enter the terminal because there were no Transportation Security Administration screeners on duty at that hour, but TSA rules would have allowed the passengers to enter the airport as long as they remained in a sterile area, the DOT said.

ExpressJet, for its part, failed to carry out a provision of Continental's customer service commitment, the DOT said. Under that commitment, if a ground delay is approaching three hours, Continental's operations center will determine if departure is expected within a reasonable time, and if not the carrier will take action as soon as possible to deplane passengers.

ExpressJet also failed to take timely actions required by its procedures, including notifying senior ExpressJet officials and providing appropriate Continental officials with notice of the delay, the DOT said.

Continental was found to have engaged in an unfair and deceptive practice since, as the carrier marketing the flight 2816, Continental ultimately is responsible to its passengers on that flight, the DOT said. But Continental can offset up to $25,000 of its $50,000 fine with spending to improve its procedures, training materials and employee training for lengthy tarmac delays.

Photo credit: Port of Seattle