Definately call airport ops if you get in a situation like this and the airline ground ops is not helping you out.

I am furloughed and got a job with airport ops at a large airport. we a have 24/7 ops and have all sorts of equipment (tugs, golf carts, airstairs, adjustable ramps, etc) that we can use to offload pax. We manage the police and ARFF response, we are qualified on all of the jetway systems and even have our own gates we manage for charters, overflow, growth, etc.

Most of the guys I work with were probably your classmates if you went to an aviation school, most are at least a private pilot, some, like me, are furloughed and do a little flying on the side still, and many are younger guys waiting for the airlines to start hiring again.

In other words, these guys are pilots, THEY WILL HELP YOU OUT.

Smaller airports are different, for sure, but most will still have some sort of ops guy, at least on call, and most have some equipment or junk laying around that would help you in this situation.

The airlines ground ops are TENANTS, we try to keep them happy, but from my perspective and those I work with (we have been talking about this over the last few weeks), we can and will override an airline if we think they aren't getting the job done. We own the airport, not them, not the TSA (even though those idiots think they do).

You would be surprised what a change of heart you will get simply by asking the ground agent at an airline for the telephone number of Airport Operations. Try it sometime.