Agitated passengers did not have the most cheerful Holiday period after they were stranded aboard various different flights, when the weather got unusually icy. But now, the Obama Administration has stepped in to make sure that nothing like this ever happen again, after the Congress failed to do take any appropriate actions despite repeated requests.

On Monday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a new rule, according to which airlines would be prohibited from stranding passengers aboard planes on airport tarmacs for over 3 hours.

For over a decade, this problem has been demanding constant attention. Time and again, bills were put forward in Congress on the behalf of many passengers suffering under uncomfortable and unhygienic conditions on stranded planes for up-to 11 hours.

In 1999, various airlines promised to help the issue and avoid repetition of it, that has not happened, and official figures from the Federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics have confirmed that for a year up-to October 31, as many as 1,058 passengers were stuck on grounded planes for 3 hours or more.

Now that the new rule has been introduced, there are chances that things would be different. There would be, most likely, more cancelled flights, but passengers feel that it is better than just sitting in a plane under undesirable conditions.