<snip>
"The flight crew and airport staff need to think outside of the box. Why not disarm the emergency slide and open the door so someone can go borrow a #$%@ step ladder?"
My point is that it is not impossible to more or less safely exit an aircraft without a jetway. If the only thing stopping them from letting you off is that it is not "normal" then I would be very frustrated.
I think the answers are pretty easy. The member of the flight crew that opens the door without an emergency or without a jetway or mobile stairs attached loses his/her job. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Apply for unemployment.
Unless the plane is a model with the rear stairs, I can tell you that I'm not teetering on a 10-foot extension latter on icy ground to make my exit unless the thing is on fire. I doubt half the people on my last flight could have made it if the plane actually was on fire.
The flight crew's hands were tied. If they wanted to feed their families next month, they had to wait for the airport authorities to do something. Supposedly, a truck with mobile stairs or even a service truck with a scissors lift bed would have done the job. The people at the airport apparently were content to blame the power failures and no one wanted to risk their livelihood to do anything proactive. Its sad that we have sunk to this level.