Discount air carrier Allegiant Airlines grounded over half of its fleet on Friday leading to mass cancellations and delays as workers inspected the planes for safety issues, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier in the week an Allegiant MD-80 deployed its emergency slides to evacuate passengers and crew members after smoke was reported in the aircraft on the tarmac at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport. After deploying the slides investigators found a "compliance issue" that warranted further looking into, the Associated Press reports.
"All of the slides on the aircraft involved in the evacuation on Monday were up-to-date and compliant," Jessica Wheeler, a spokeswoman for Allegiant, said. "However, the event triggered a maintenance review which found issues with other slides in our fleet."
A statement from the Las Vegas based airline said that the process of inspecting the planes could take until the end of the month, according to the Dallas Morning News.
"The company has already begun the re-inspections and expects to complete the process by the end of September," a statement said. "MD-80 aircraft will be placed back in service as soon as possible after the slides pass re-inspection. In the meantime, Allegiant will take as many as 30 MD-80s out of service and delay, reschedule or cancel a number of flights over the next several days."
According to FlightStats.com Allegiant hasn't had to cancel any of Friday's flights. Four of the 24 flights to have taken place as of the writing of this article were delayed for over 45 minutes although that may have been for reasons completely independent of the inspections.
"We apologize for the disruption to our passengers and ask that they please remain patient as we work to correct the issue, reschedule affected flights and accommodate any passengers impacted," Andrew Levy, president of Allegiant Travel, said in a press release. "Allegiant is committed, above all else, to the safety of our passengers and crew, and we are dedicated to working around-the-clock to ensure that all of our fleet meets the highest standards."
FlightStats.com as well as Allegiant's website will have all of the information about which flights are being canceled or delayed.
