Airline to Pay Grounded Passengers $7.1 Million

Northwest Airlines agreed Tuesday to pay $7.1 million to more than 7,000 passengers forced to wait for hours on grounded airplanes at Detroit’s airport during a storm in 1999.

The airline admitted no wrongdoing in settling the class-action lawsuit.

More than a dozen Northwest planes were stranded on snow-covered taxiways and tarmacs as a storm pounded the Midwest on Jan. 3, 1999. Passengers waited up to 11 hours on board and in some cases were subjected to overflowing toilets and a lack of food.

Northwest now says passengers must not be stuck on grounded planes for more than three hours.