My personal experience

[Flyinghigh]

I'm a Chicago based flight crew for a major airline. All my flights from yesterday to tomorrow were preemptively canceled. This is the third moderately to heavy snow storm we've had this year and on all three occasions my airline has canceled a extraordinary amount of flights that I never foresaw us canceling in years past. In previous years we'd go out there can wait, wait, and wait. Sometimes an hour, sometimes three. Now we just cancel. Speaking with my colleagues both in base and across the country they've all experienced the same thing, although this is of no surprise to us. As an airline worker I welcome the new "tarmac rule" as it now for the most part allowed us to stay home with notice during periods of inclement weather as oppose to waiting hours on end on the taxiways. My condolences to all the passengers that are stuck because of the new rule. This rule has effectively stranded thousands of passengers without hotel vouchers as the cancellations were due to weather. Time has already shown that the rule will have far more implications than saving a few flights a year that are stranded on taxiways more than three hours at a time.

FH

[GretaJ]

Personally, I don't mind waiting for the weather to clear up. I'd rather be stuck in a hotel room in Chicago than on a tarmac or at the airport for hours and perhaps days. I think as the airlines get used to the new rule, things will be better and run smoother. As a flyer, I don't want to be stuck on the tarmac for any amount of time. If my plane leaves the gate, then I expect to be in the air within the hour. I understand that other planes are scheduled to be in the gate I'm in but if there is going to be any delay, delay the flight before people board not while they are stuck on board and on the tarmac.