It is the goal of United Airlines to minimize customer disservice during lengthy on-ground tarmac delays. Tarmac delays include any extensive on-ground flight delays that occur during:

• taxi-out – the time the aircraft pushes away from the gate until it is in the air;
• taxi-in – the time the aircraft lands until it is parked at the gate; or
• diversions – a nonscheduled stopping point due to weather events, medical emergencies or other causes.

In an effort to maintain compliance with Our Customer Commitment and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, we have enacted policies and procedures, effective April 29, 2010, to aggressively manage and minimize extended tarmac delays on United®-operated flights. United assures that it has sufficient resources to implement this plan.  In addition, these policies have been coordinated with airport authorities at all medium and large hub airports serviced by United.

United’s tarmac delay policy
Our Operations Control Center (OCC), dispatch and air traffic control coordinators, pilots, flight crew and local station operations will work together to:

1. Ensure that customers are provided food, water and restroom facilities for any extended tarmac delay lasting more than two hours. If a ground delay lasts longer than three hours (for flights within the United States and Canada, or to/from Hawaii, Puerto Rico or St. Thomas) or four hours (for international flights), customers will be allowed to exit the aircraft.

2. For any ground delay lasting 150 minutes (for flights within the United States and Canada, or to/from Hawaii, Puerto Rico or St. Thomas) or 210 minutes (for international flights), the aircraft will return to the gate or allow customers to exit, as directed by an official crew member, before the delay reaches three hours or four hours, respectively. Any exceptions to this legal requirement will be coordinated by the flight crew and local air traffic control.

Exceptions may be made in the following circumstances:

• The pilot-in-command determines there is a safety or security risk to deplaning passengers, such as a weather event or an air traffic control or government directive.
• Air traffic control advises that returning to the gate, or allowing customers to deplane at a location other than the gate, would significantly disrupt airport operations.
• In either of the above cases, United will continue to assess conditions in an effort to maintain compliance with Our Customer Commitment and DOT regulations

3. Proactively manage taxi-out delays to minimize ground delays lasting more than two hours, and to prevent ground delays lasting more than three hours for flights within the United States and Canada (or to/from Hawaii, Puerto Rico or St. Thomas) and to prevent delays lasting more than four hours for international flights.

4. Proactively manage taxi-in delays to minimize ground delays of more than 60 minutes and prevent those of more than 180 minutes.

5. Proactively manage diversions (nonscheduled stopping points) to prevent related delays from lasting more than three hours.

Potential delay risk assessment
United will consider the following criteria when determining the potential for an extended ground delay at taxi-out or during a diversion:

If the situation is such that potential exists for an extended ground delay, the station, gate agent and flight crew will:

1. Avoid pushing away from the gate until average delays begin to decline at the station, or keep the cabin door open during the delay so customers may exit.

2. In the case of a delay of 90 minutes: If cabin provisioning—including restroom availability, water and food—is insufficient to meet customer needs, then the aircraft must return to the gate or provide customers an exit in an effort to ensure that the two-hour time limit is not exceeded.

3. After a delay of two hours: If the aircraft has not already returned to the gate, a return to gate plan will be coordinated by local operations.

4. If the delay exceeds 150 minutes: The flight crew will work with air traffic control to evaluate the feasibility of the flight taking off within 30 minutes. If air traffic control grants an extended tarmac delay exemption or ground operations prevent a return to the gate, the flight may continue to wait for takeoff clearance, otherwise the flight must return to gate within 30 minutes.