[AADFW]

In the absence of laws inhibiting airlines from engaging in this kind of behavior, I think it would be completely fitting to enact federal legislation that would immunize from prosecution passengers who blow the exits of aircraft upon which they are held hostage for more than a certain number of hours.

Think of it in these terms: if you paid for a Greyhound bus ticket from Minneapolis to Chicago, and the bus driver pulled over to a closed gas station in the middle of the night because the roads became too icy to negotiate, and proceeded to refuse to let any passengers off the bus on the grounds that he did not have permission from the gas station to do so, chances are he or she would be charged with felony kidnapping. If a passenger then attempted to open the emergency door, my bet is that he or she wouldn't be charged with a crime. Why should airline passengers be treated any differently under closely similar circumstances?

It's time for change. Call or write your Congressional representative and demand a passenger bill of rights today!