FAA probing planes stranded on tarmac in Hartford, Conn.

— -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the stranding of nearly two dozen planes in Hartford, Conn., after they were diverted from New York-area airports on Saturday.

Passengers reported being stuck on the planes for seven hours or more without food and with overflowing toilets.

JetBlue diverted six flights to Bradley International Airport that had been headed to Newark, N.J., or New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

"Obviously we would have preferred deplaning much sooner than we did, but our flights were six of the 23 reported diversions into Hartford, including international flights," spokeswoman Sharon Jones said. "The airport experienced intermittent power outages, which made refueling and jetbridge deplaning difficult."

An airport spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

An American Airlines flight from Paris to New York was among those diverted and delayed, which the airline blamed on a lack of Customs officials in Hartford.

"The simple answer involving our aircraft and its delay was that Customs would not allow the passengers to deplane when we originally asked," said spokesman Tim Smith, who referred questions to federal authorities. "Ultimately, many hours later, Customs did arrive and processed these international passengers."

An FAA spokeswoman said the agency is investigating. The Transportation Department adopted a rule in April 2010 for potential fines up to $27,500 per passenger for a flight left on the tarmac longer than three hours without giving passengers a chance to deplane. But the department hasn't yet enforced the rule, saying lengthy delays have fallen under exceptions since the rule was adopted.

"The FAA is undertaking a comprehensive review of Saturday's operations in the northeast including, air traffic procedures, aircraft diversions, weather and equipment performance," spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

Kate Hanni, executive director of FlyersRights.com, who lobbied for the tarmac rule, said she heard that Hartford staffing was down in anticipation of the storm, so that planes couldn't reach gates at that airport. She is urging the Department of Transportation to develop a new rule for potential fines against airports in addition to airlines.

"It was a really bad storm," Hanni said. "The problem here is that the airports are not subject to potential fines, and have not kept their word."

Travelers on the flights, diverted from New York-area airports following an unusual, heavy October snowstorm, experienced backed-up toilets, little or no food and a quickly dwindling supply of potable water.

Brent Stanley, an IT manager who lives in the Chicago suburbs, landed at 2:30 p.m. and spent seven and a half hours on the tarmac in Hartford after a nine-hour flight from Paris. He said the American crew routinely offered snacks and water every two hours, and that the pilot kept passengers informed, but that he wasn't given much information.

"The updates we would get from the pilot — at one point he even said, 'Getting information out of these people is like pulling teeth," said Stanley, who got home Sunday after spending the night in Hartford airport. "The Hartford people just weren't prepared."