Local airport officials emphasized that passenger safety continues to be the highest priority following a Tampa Bay Times investigation into flight difficulties at Allegiant Air.
The Times report found Allegiant’s aircraft are four times as likely to fail during flight as those operated by other U.S. airlines. Out of at least 77 unexpected landings in 2015 for serious mechanical failures, the Times could not find a single instance that prompted enforcement action from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Allegiant Air, which just arrived at the Akron-Canton Airport in the spring of 2015, recently announced that it will double its presence in Northeast Ohio — but shift all of its operations here to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Feb. 15.
Rick McQueen, president and CEO at Akron-Canton, said no out-of-the-ordinary issues have affected Allegiant passengers at CAK.
“At the Akron-Canton Airport, customer safety is our number one priority, and our airline partners take the same stance,” McQueen said in a statement emailed to the Beacon Journal. “In the time that Allegiant Air has been at CAK the airline has experienced some mechanical issues that have caused delays and at times cancellations, but these are issues that have impacted all air carriers at one point or another. To our knowledge passengers from CAK have not experienced any other emergency issues while flying on Allegiant.”
Fred Szabo, interim director at Cleveland Hopkins, said via email that the airport “is confident that Allegiant Airlines will comply with all FAA safety regulations and that they are committed to correct any reported deficiencies. The airport will reach out to our FAA safety inspectors in order to monitor existing and future safety developments.”