US budget airline Allegiant under fire after scathing ‘60 Minutes’ report into safety record
The segment included interviews with shaken passengers and experts
The parent company of Allegiant Air faced calls for an inquiry into its safety record and a sharp drop in its stock price after a report by CBS News’ 60 Minutes alleged the US budget airline suffers a high number of mechanical problems.
The 60 Minutes segment, which aired Sunday, found more than 100 “serious mechanical incidents” on the ultra-low-cost carrier between January 2016 and October 2017.
Almost 30 per cent of Allegiant’s planes are “antiquated” McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 aircraft, the programme said.
The report was based on a review of US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data and interviews with industry experts.
The report also suggested that lax FAA oversight had allowed Allegiant’s mechanical issues, including an instance of in-flight engine failure, to continue. Both the federal agency and the airline denied this was the case.