United Airlines fined $1.9 million for making passengers sit on flights for hours

Federal regulators have fined United Airlines $1.9 million for allowing multiple flights to sit on the ground for hours, the largest fine imposed by the government for such long delays.

The Transportation Department said Friday that the 25 incidents occurred between December 2015 and February of this year. More than 3,200 passengers were trapped on planes without being given a chance to disembark, the department said. 

In a 2019 incident, for example, a United flight headed for Chicago was diverted to an airport in Wisconsin because of a winter storm and sat on the tarmac for more than four hours without passengers being allowed to exit the aircraft, according to a consent order released by the agency.