According to “60 Minutes,” Allegiant reported three times as many mechanical problems with flights as six other major airlines from January 2016 to October.
Officials at the Orlando Sanford International Airport, where Allegiant Air is the dominant airline, said Monday they won’t comment on a CBS “60 Minutes” report that aired Sunday blasting Allegiant’s safety record based on a review of scores of mechanical problems over the past two years.
Allegiant flies to 78 destinations in the U. S., Canada and Puerto Rico, out of the Sanford airport.
According to the “60 Minutes” report, Allegiant reported three times as many mechanical problems with flights as six other major airlines — including Delta, American and United — over the same time period, January 2016 and last October.
“The FAA ’s mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world,” Orlando Sanford International spokeswoman Lauren Rowe in a statement. “The Sanford Airport Authority has total confidence in the FAA.”
Other airlines at the airport include Via Air, which flies to eight destinations in the U. S., and Surinam Air, which travels to Aruba, Guyana and Surinam.
The airport is about to begin a $60.6 million expansion project that will add new gates, baggage carousels and garage entrances. That expansion, airport officials say, is to handle the more than 2.6 million passengers, a nearly three-fold increase from 901,862 passengers in 2012, at the fast-growing air facility.
The expansion project will be paid for with funds from the state Department of Transportation and revenue from passenger facility charges, a $4 fee tacked onto every ticket into and out of the airport.
