Flight turns into six-hour nightmare

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) - Continental Airlines is apologizing to passengers who were stuck on the tarmac for six hours when a Houston-to-Minneapolis flight was diverted because of bad weather.

Some 47 passengers, bound from Texas, were confined in a small ExpressJet airplane for six hours at the Rochester, Minn., airport due to regulations.

Continental says the incident was "completely unacceptable."

The airline is also offering refunds and vouchers.

Continental Express 2816 was operated by ExpressJet Airlines, which handles regional flights for Continental. It was diverted to Rochester, Minn., and landed about midnight.

Passengers weren't allowed to leave the plane until 6 a.m. Saturday.

ExpressJet says passengers couldn't get off because security screeners had gone off duty. But officials at the Rochester airport say the passengers could have stayed on the secure side of the terminal, and it was Continental's decision to keep them on the plane.

"The ordeal was a nightmare," said passenger Link Christin. "As time elapsed, the smell of overused bathrooms and babies on the plane grew worse."

The flight left Houston about 9:30 p.m. Friday and was scheduled to arrive in the Twin Cities by midnight, but the plane diverted to Rochester because of thunderstorms.

 "By then, the flight crew had reached maximum work hours, so another crew had to be flown in," said ExpressJet spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas. "Allowing passengers into the terminal wasn't possible because security screeners had gone home for the day."

At daybreak, passengers were allowed in the terminal, only to board the same plane again for the flight to the Twin Cities.