Royal Jordanian (RJ, Amman Queen Alia) has been fined USD35,000 by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) after failing to file a Delayed Tarmac Report (DTR). The incident occurred more than two years ago.
On July 4, 2014, RJ264 from Chicago O'Hare to Amman Queen Alia was diverted to Detroit Metropolitan due to technical issues. The airline claims that it was unable to deplane passengers as the airport did not have an available gate for a widebody aircraft. It also claims that airport operations had ceased, so other options for safely disembarking passengers were not available. Passengers were delayed on the tarmac for more than four hours.
The DOT only became aware of the delay after a passenger filed a consumer complaint.
Royal Jordanian has neither admitted nor denied the violation, but has agreed to pay the fine.
