Continental Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines and Mesaba Airlines are being fined $175,000 for leaving passengers stranded on a tarmac overnight.

Minneapolis-bound Continental Express Flight 2816 garnered much publicity when it was forced to divert to Rochester because of thunderstorms back in August. The Rochester airport was closed when the flight landed and Mesaba Airlines employees — the only airline employees at the airport at the time — refused to open the terminal for the stranded passengers.

The result: A night on a 50-seat plane without a working toilet.

As a result, the Department of Transportation has slapped $175,000 on the airlines — Continental (the parent company airline) is being fined $50,000; ExpressJet (Continental's regional carrier) is being fined $50,000; and Mesaba Airlines is being charged $75,000.

"I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

© Cheapflights Ltd Melanie Nayer