NEWARK, N.J. — A hot, dark and miserable four-hour stretch spent by hundreds of travelers parked in a diverted trans-Atlantic plane renewed calls Wednesday to add international travel to a months-old federal rule limiting how long airlines can keep passengers trapped on the tarmac.

All of about 300 passengers marooned late Tuesday and early Wednesday at Bradley International Airport outside Hartford, Conn., finally reached their original destination, New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, by midafternoon, piling off buses and describing chaos and desperation in the cabin as temperatures and tempers rose.

Some passengers fell ill from the heat as the London-to-Newark Virgin Atlantic flight lingered on the tarmac, and at least one had to be administered oxygen, said David Cooper, a London resident trying to get to his job at a summer camp. The airline confirmed some travelers needed medical treatment but did not say how many.

“Everyone was beginning to get a bit crazy; a few people got fevers, they were really struggling,” Cooper said. “Basically they cracked. I guess these things do happen, and this time they happened to us.”

A federal three-hour limit on tarmac strandings went into effect in April, eight months after 47 passengers on a Continental Express flight were stranded overnight on a runway in Rochester, Minn.

The limit doesn’t apply to international flights and overseas airlines like Britain’s Virgin Atlantic, but Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently solicited comments on whether it should. Federal officials will investigate whether the Connecticut stranding violated any rules.

“The events reported overnight in Connecticut reinforce my belief that passengers have rights and are entitled to fair treatment when they fly,” LaHood said in a statement Wednesday.

The airline issued a statement Wednesday thanking passengers for their patience, apologizing for any inconvenience and offering vouchers for ground transportation and hotels. It was considering offering “some sort of credit” on tickets, said Chris Rossi, Virgin Atlantic vice president for North America.

 


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