Illinois senators demand safety answers from Allegiant airlines
Following a recent “60 Minutes” episode that detailed significant and repeated mechanical incidents involving Allegiant Air’s aircraft, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth today pressed Allegiant for a full accounting of any and all serious mechanical incidents since 2015 involving the six Illinois locations in which Allegiant operates: Belleville (Mascoutah), Bloomington, Moline, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield.
“The allegations presented in the report raise serious questions about Allegiant’s commitment to the safety of the traveling public in Illinois and around the country. Our constituents in Illinois deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to Allegiant’s safety record,” the senators wrote in a letter to Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., CEO of Allegiant Air.
Last year, Allegiant flew 12 million passengers to 120 destinations around the country while at the same time experiencing over 100 serious mechanical incidents between January 2016 and October 2017, according to 60 Minutes. The report shed disturbing light on the airline’s continued mechanical problems since the summer of 2015, involving aborted takeoffs, emergency landings, smoke-filled cabins, a lack of capable engineers, and—most disturbing—roughly 25 engine failures within two years.
The letter reads:
April 20, 2018
Dear Mr. Gallagher:
We write to express our serious concerns about the safety of Allegiant Air’s operations in and out of Illinois following this week’s airing of a report on 60 Minutes detailing significant and repeated mechanical incidents involving Allegiant’s aircraft. As you know, Allegiant operates at six airports in Illinois: Belleville, Bloomington, Moline, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield. The allegations presented in the report raise serious questions about Allegiant’s commitment to the safety of the traveling public in Illinois and around the country. Our constituents in Illinois deserve transparency and accountability when it comes to Allegiant’s safety record. We are requesting a full accounting of any and all serious mechanical incidents since 2015 involving the six Illinois locations in which Allegiant operates.
Last year, Allegiant flew 12 million passengers to 120 destinations around the country while at the same time experiencing over 100 serious mechanical incidents between January 2016 and October 2017, according to 60 Minutes. The report shed disturbing light on the airline’s continued mechanical problems since the summer of 2015, involving aborted takeoffs, emergency landings, smoke-filled cabins, a lack of capable engineers, and—most disturbing — 25 engine failures within two years. According to FAA data analyzed by 60 Minutes, these repeated safety incidents have resulted in Allegiant aircraft being three and a half times more likely to have a serious in-flight mechanical failure than other U.S. airlines. That is simply unacceptable. Low fares are of little value to passengers when the planes they board are outdated, unreliable, and unsafe.
The report suggests that Allegiant’s business model, older aircraft, and poor safety culture have led to the airline’s troubling safety record. These are allegations that must be taken seriously by your company’s leadership, yet your company’s response to the report, touting the “outstanding safety record” of Allegiant while offering little explanation for their repeated safety incidents, was tone deaf at best and dismissive of the safety of the flying public at worst. While we understand certain aspects of your operations may have improved since 2015, the fact that these malfunctions occurred at all, placing customers in harm’s way, signifies the need for an in-depth review and possible overhaul of your company’s safety standards.
In order to better understand the extent of the problem, we request a detailed record of Allegiant’s mechanical incidents and safety violations in Illinois as well as a full explanation of what Allegiant has already done and plans to do in the future to mitigate these issues and ensure safe and reliable air travel for our constituents.
We look forward to your prompt response.
