BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A new report shows that Allegiant Air flights have more mechanical problems and gate returns than other airlines.
Allegiant Air is a low cost airline, but their pilots--who are in negotiations with the airline--say low-cost shouldn't mean low safety.
Last year, pilots went to their union over concerns about how often Allegiant planes were returning to airports and getting diverted. Pilots said the flights were being re-routed for “fixable maintenance related-issues,” according to a document recently released from pilot reports.
A group called Aviation Mechanics Coalition, which relied on Allegiant Pilots to self-report from September of last year through March of this year, put together a document which says at least 65 incidents occurred on planes during that time.
Some of the complaints in air were: engine shutdown; loss of cockpit automation; smoke in the cabin; smoke in the cockpit; loss of all three communications radios; even bathrooms for passengers that didn't work.
In a statement, Allegiant wrote:
“The safety of our passengers and crew is, above all, our number one priority. Allegiant has one of the best safety records among passenger airlines in the world and complies with all FAA regulations.
Allegiant is fortunate that our unique network allows for our aircraft to be inspected and serviced by our mechanics every night. In addition to the routine maintenance and service on individual aircraft, Allegiant has two separate programs in place – an analysis and surveillance program and a reliability program – to continually monitor and share data with the FAA regarding the overall health of the fleet. Allegiant has not identified abnormal trends regarding the overall health of our fleet.”
Allegiant Air doesn’t fly out from Sea-Tac Airport but does fly to and from Bellingham International Airport.
KIRO
