(Thumbnail image: CBC News)

CBS: “47 passengers stranded on the Rochester runway, for over nine hours.”

NBC: “Incredibly, the passengers were stuck on the tarmac for six hours, turning their trip into a 13-hour odyssey.”

CNN: “Passengers were on board this AirTran jet on the ground from 7:30 in the morning, until 4:30 in the afternoon.”

They’re the stuff of legend: tales of airline passengers stuck on the tarmac for hours on end with no food or working toilets.

But now, the U.S. Department of Transportation is imposing hefty fines on airlines that leave passengers waiting on an aircraft for longer than three hours.

We’re looking at perspectives from ABC, CNN, True/Slant, The Aurora Sentinel, and Canada’s CTV.

Though some call the new rule a “Christmas miracle,” it won’t actually be enforced for another four months.

Nonetheless, The View’s Whoopi Goldberg isn’t shy about her reaction.

“Airlines—yeehaw!—have a three hour limit for keeping passengers waiting on airplanes on the tarmac. And if they don’t let them off after that, they face a fine of—now get this— $30,000 per passenger! Yes! (Applause)”

What’s good news for some isn’t always good news for all.

An Air Transport Association representative on CNN says the result might be worse than long delays.

“It’s going to lead to more cancellations and conceivably greater inconvenience for passengers than they would have had otherwise.”

A blogger on True/Slant says airlines aren’t the bad guys here--when delays happen, they lose too.

“Despite what grousing travelers like to think, airlines don’t actually enjoy delaying passengers. In fact, they downright despise it...The vast majority of delays are either the result of inclement weather or heavy traffic – not fits of pique on the part of pilots or airline administrators.”

But the airlines do get a few exceptions—they can keep passengers waiting if safety and security concerns make it necessary, or if letting them off would “disrupt airport operations.”

On ABC’s “Good Morning America,” one correspondent puts the numbers in perspective.

“Really very few of them are delayed on the tarmac for three hours or more. What the government is telling us is it would affect about 1,500 flights a year, and maybe 114,000 passengers. That is a miniscule amount compared the folks flying all the time.”

Still, an editorial in Colorado’s Aurora Sentinel says getting stuck once is more than enough.

“If you’re thinking this really isn’t that big of deal, obviously it’s never happened to you. But there were almost 700 flights this year alone that would have violated this new policy had it been enacted last year.”

Canada’s CTV says that’s all well and good for the U.S., but there’s no need for similar regulations in Canada.

“If you travel at all in the states, you compare their airports, even the major ones, with our airports, I mean there’s a huge difference in capacity. Just overall, it seems our airports are better.”

So what do you think about the new regulations?

Writer: Christina Hartman

Producer: Lee Morehouse