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Nomaan Merchant
Minneapolis (AP)

Continental Airlines apologizes for stranding passengers

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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.

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.