Thanks. I feel a little better now. I'm wondering what the "laws" are regarding just HOW LONG they are allowed to hold passengers on an aircraft hostage as they did. I know that they probably didn't want us to return to the terminal because they knew that a number of us would have turned in our tickets and sought another carrier.
As a former airline pilot, I'm not aware of any rules limiting how long you can be kept on aircraft. I don't think it's covered by the Geneva Convention, although it probably should be. I do know a few things: Once you are off 'the gate', the crew is being paid. Once off the 'gate', the flight is considered on its way, and the airlines hate to have flights come back - it screws up their nice little statistics (on time arrivals, completed flights, etc.). The airlines work great, when the variables are severly limited. But throw in a little weather, etc. and the whole system can really come crashing down. Six hours is inhumane though. The crew was probably sympathetic to your situation. Airline management? well, they don't care. Period.