they say the aviation system is working just fine given the circumstances. >> the aviation system is not broken at all. we had the severe weather situation in the northeast united states. >> others say thousands of flights may have been canceled prematurely all because of the new airline's passenger bill of rights. it fines airlines if domestic flights not international flights are kept waiting on the tarmac for more than three hours. this was the first big test of the tarmac wait rule since it went into effect in april and rather than risk those fines, potentially millions of dollars per flight, critics say the airlines simply grounded them leaving passengers stuck in the terminal instead of on the airplane. meantime, the department of transportation is taking a hard look at what happened this weekend and will post its findings so consumers make informed decisions in future weather emergencies. but the department insists telling airlines how to schedule flights is not its job. of course passengers still trapped at the airport aren't interested in excuses, they just