Date: 201707
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: IAH.Airport, TX
Flight conditions: Marginal
Weather elements / visibility: Thunderstorm
Light: Dusk
Aircraft: Medium Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Parked
ATC / advisory: Ramp IAH
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Not Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Second reporter function: Pilot Flying; First Officer
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: Aircraft In Service At Gate
Result: General None Reported / Taken
Contributing factors: Human Factors; Weather
Primary problem: Weather

Narrative: We landed in IAH just before a large storm system arrived at the airport. Upon taxi in we noticed the lightning really getting started and the flashing yellow lights on the terminals indicating the ramp closure. We auto-parked at our gate in accordance with the extreme weather guidelines before it even started raining. We made an announcement to the passengers about the ramp closure and the safety reasons for keeping the doors closed. The storm was moving incredibly slowly and after 1 hour the Flight Attendant (FA) did a full beverage service and handed out Stroopwafels that had been mis-catered on the airplane. After the second hour we [did] another full beverage service. The ramp opened up after approximately 3:15 from our ON time. We kept the cockpit door open and showed the lightning strikes on a website I found that tracks it and explained the ramp safety rules to the passengers. We had a couple of folks get frustrated; but overall the FA kept the mood calm. It helped that the APU worked and we could keep the cabin comfortable. I'm writing this [report] because ops was asking crews to pop open then reclose their doors in order to capture an IN time so they wouldn't go over the [time] limits. No one was allowed off the planes because of the ramp closure so this didn't meet the actual requirement to let the passengers off so a lot of us were advising crews to keep the doors shut. I feel that; in this case; [the Company] was trying to help their stats and lower the amount of planes that went over [time] limits so they didn't have to do so much paperwork.Tell Ops to 'shove it' in the most polite terms possible.


Second narrative: Exceeded max daily flight time due to reroutes and ground delay. Our first flight was delayed due to 2 reroutes. That put us in 47 min over block. Our second flight put us 1 min under block. Our third flight was to IAH. Upon landing in IAH; ramp was under ground stop due to lightning in vicinity of the airport. We had just landed ahead of weather that was advancing from the north. The [auto park system] was operational so we parked at our gate. Since the ramp was closed a gate agent couldn't come out and move the passenger bridge to allow the passengers to [be] deplaned. The storm passing over the airport was very slow moving so the ramp continued to be closed. The captain made the required PA announcements per the Flight Operations Manual and when new information became available. Due to the volume of planes on the ground; moving to a gate with a jet bridge was not an option. The required ACARS messages were sent as well. Eventually the ramp was re-opened and we were able to deplane. That put the block time for that flight at 4hr 34min versus the 1hr 3min that was scheduled. The delay on the ground exceeded 3hr.The biggest threat was the weather. The lightning around the airport closed the ramp. Since the gates at IAH consist of metal ramps; having passengers walk down them in a thunderstorm poses obvious risk. Exceeding 3hr on the ground was done in the interest of safety to ramp personnel and the passengers.It's important to keep track of your duty time and flight time throughout the day. When you are coming up on a limit keep the company in the loop to get the situation resolved before it becomes an issue.


Synopsis: Air carrier flight crew reported a 3 hour 15 minute delay opening the aircraft door due to ramp closure for lightning strikes. As a result of this and prior reroutes; the crew exceeded the FAR allowable flight time.