The fines will "hopefully be the catalyst" for passenger-rights legislation and airlines in addressing tarmac delays, says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents 300 corporate travel departments.

Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark says her airline agreed to the Transportation Department's findings in the Rochester incident rather than spend money on lawyers to fight them.

During the delay in Rochester, Clark says, ExpressJet "worked throughout the night to safely deplane the customers at the earliest possible time, yet was unable to because the ground handler failed to provide reasonable assistance and accurate information."

John Spanjers, president of Mesaba Airlines, says, "Mesaba continues to feel it operated in good faith by providing voluntary ground-handling assistance to ExpressJet during this delay."