DOT Fines Allegiant Air $225,000 for Tarmac Delay Violations
DOT's Aviation Enforcement Office found that during the summer months of 2016 and 2017, Allegiant Air failed to provide passengers a comfortable cabin temperature on 10 flights delayed on the tarmac at airports in Las Vegas; El Paso; Dayton, Ohio; and Albuquerque.
The U.S. Department of Transportation recently fined Allegiant Air, LLC $225,000 for violating federal law and the department's airline consumer protections rules concerning tarmac delays and ordered it to cease and desist from future similar violations.
DOT's Aviation Enforcement Office found that during the summer months of 2016 and 2017, Allegiant Air failed to provide passengers a comfortable cabin temperature on 10 flights delayed on the tarmac at airports in Las Vegas; El Paso; Dayton, Ohio; and Albuquerque. In one of those instances, Allegiant did not provide food and water to passengers in a timely manner or announce to passengers that they had an opportunity to deplane, as required by DOT rules, according to the consent order in the case.
The consent order is available at www.regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2018-0001. It says the office investigated 10 flights, five each in 2016 and 2017. The order says Allegiant maintains that it takes compliance with laws and regulations very seriously, and it noted that the affected flights were all subject to outdoor temperatures in the triple-digit range, including some exceeding 110 degrees F, which made it difficult to keep the aircraft cool despite using all means available to the airline.
The consent order says Allegiant is revising its training and procedures to more effectively address cabin temperature and cabin provisioning issues, and that its fleet renewal program, which will retire from service its MD-80 series aircraft, which are the most prone to cabin temperature issues, is being accelerated, with completion to occur by late 2018.