When you stop at an airport for refueling and no plane chnge is required,are you allowed to get off the plane?

Question

When you stop at an airport for refueling and no plane chnge is required,are you allowed to get off the plane?

Answer 1

If the Aircraft is being refueled, no nonessential personel should be on the aircraft. As an ex-Navy, C-141 Flight Engineer I won a nasty argument with a Navy Captain, in Clark AFB, regarding that situation during the Viet Nam Evacuation.

I won the argument and didn't load till fueled, but it wasn't that satisfying because that was when we were still hauling out with cargo configuration, with the lucky ones sitting on cardboard to compensate for poor floor heat and strapped in with cargo straps from the outboard pad eyes.  Got lot's of people in.  Not all were comfortable.  But all were grateful.  These were Vietnamese not US Military.

Answer 2

depends on the airport. some require you to get off with all your carry-on bags and some make you stay in the tin can... and some let you do whatever you want.

Answer 3

I would imagine it would depend on how long it would take, and if they actually pull into a gate, as opposed to a refueling station.

Answer 4

Sometimes.

Answer 5

It depends on circumstances. I have worked flights that have diverted to a city that was not a scheduled stop, and have landed there for fuel. Generally, passengers were asked to stay on the aircraft, as the stop would not be very long, and we wanted to get the aircraft departed as quickly as possible. Usually in this case, the aircraft was ready to go in about 10 minutes. Passengers cannot get off and back on in that time, so that is why we kept them on the aircraft.

If it is a scheduled stop, normally it is OK to get off and walk around for a few minutes, depending on how long the stop is. The flight attendents will let you know if it is OK or not.

Regards,

Dan

Answer 6

i agree with sparechange but I believe if it is an international flight you are restricted from deboarding, something is coming back to me from aviation law class,  it violates one of the 5 international flight laws, you have to go from point A to B as scheduled but if you stop in between for fuel or something no passengers or cargo can deboard or board,

when you think about it most fuel stops occur on international or intercontinental flights because of the distances and then you would have to go through their customs and declarations which you would not have the correct paperwork for because you'd probably be in the wrong country    

that is the best i can remember from that class, hope that helps

Answer 7

Usually! if not they will tell you that they want you to stay on becuase they are taking off sooner than expected

Answer 8

Not typically.

This is done because people have a tendency to wander off and get lost.  Not totally lost, they just meander around completely oblivious to the fact that the plane is leaving without them.  Unfortunately due to security measures enacted after the Pan Am 103 incident, this is referred to as a "voluntary separation" and from that point forward that passenger's luggage must be removed from the plane.

So for a pure refueling stop where no passengers are to be added or subtracted, typically people will not be allowed off the plane.  This is not really a regulation, just a policy and a decision that is made for each stop.  If it is obviously going to be a few hours, people will be allowed to leave.  If its going to be 30 minutes, they will not.  Its just a matter of keeping everyone corralled.  There's a rule of thumb we use when dealing with passengers:  If it seems like a stupid idea...someone on board your airplane will do it.  If its a dumb idea to go across the  street to Chili's and leave security to get a burger, somebody will do it.