"... making passengers sit for hours in stuffy planes a stone's throw from the gate"

Actually, it often is AT the gate, and known that the wait will be at least half an hour, and to conserve fuel such amenities as air conditioning are turned off - but for some reason disembarking and re-embarking are ruled out. Runway waits do not often last more than fifteen minutes [except at O'Hare?].

Now this "sacrifice" notion may have legs (no pun intended). Rather than the repair and schedule of commercial aircraft, i sugegst we invoke a ritual of political sacrifice with an option. We should by lot select for sacrifice (painless) one career politician at the end of his or her term IF: he or she has run for two terms and intends to run again in either the Senate or House in order to propitiate the God of Term Limits. Any politician who withdraws from attempting reelection obviously will be spared and the God of term Limitis will be propitiated at no cost of life in that instance. What is remarkable to me is the liklihood that many or most of these political characters will risk all just to run again, no matter what the cost. Why else would someone spend millions or tens of millions of dollars to win a political job that may pay $150,000 a year.
Go figure.