First, the fact that your delay was under 3 hours means that the rule would not have applied. In fact, the rule would help the airline in these circumstances. The airline can put pressure on the airport, precisely because it is a rule that they cannot keep people hostage for over 3 hours. Without the rule, the airline would have no scope to address the problem with the airport. Frankly, there is no VIP who can justify the airport taking such actions.. it is OUTRAGEOUS.
In all my years of travel, I have never been held on the ground in any international airport more than 45 minutes, except in the USA. If you google airport horror stories, you will not find too many reports of this happening elsewhere. This seems to be a perculiarly American problem...
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