SEATTLE - At least two major airlines say they'll likely cancel flights rather than pay penalties for new tarmac-delay regulations.
The new rules take effect next month, right in the middle of spring storm season.
And passengers could be caught in the middle of a tug of war between airlines and regulators as passengers may soon be seeing more cancellations on airport departure boards.
"I would definitely want to be late than not go at all. That's for sure," said one passenger.
But several airlines, including American and Continental, say they will cancel flights rather than risk paying stiff penalties for delaying passengers on the runway.
The concern is that other airlines will follow suit.
"I think all of them will cancel flights," says aviation consultant Denny Kelly. "They'll do it partially because they think they are gonna punish passengers, and if they punish then someone will get this legislation removed."
Under new rules that take effect next month, airlines can be fined up to $27,500 per passenger if an airplane is stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours.
"How can they say there is nothing wrong with having someone sit on a seat in an airplane on a ramp and run out of water and everything sit on there three, four, five hours that's ridiculous," says Kelly.
With the new fines, a delayed MD-80 could cost American Airlines close to $4 million and a full, 757 -- more than $5 million.
A spokesperson for the airline says it's unavoidable that more flights will be canceled to avoid fines.
It's one of the unintended consequences of a bill that has no flexibility.
"Then I won't fly that airline again. They risk losing a lot of people if that's what they become known for, canceling a flight if they can't get there," says airline passenger Dave Wooldridge.
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