LAS VEGAS -- An Indiana woman is among many Allegiant Air passengers trying to get home and says she's fighting issues with the airline every step of the way.
Lisa Peckham, of Greenfield, Indiana was on Allegiant flight No. 500 Wednesday. The flight, which was scheduled to go from Las Vegas to Indianapolis, had to return to Vegas after one of its tires blew out during takeoff.
PREVIOUS | Blown tire sends Allegiant flight bound for Indy back to Las Vegas
Peckham said the passengers were put on another plane that was supposed to go to Indy. That plane was also canceled due to more mechanical problems.
After two canceled flights, Peckham is still in Vegas, where passengers are helping each other get situated by lining up for boarding passes and passing out food vouchers after frustration with the process, she said.
"There are people with kids here ... and older people who can't do this," she said.
The original flight was scheduled to arrive at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday. It was carrying 202 passengers and seven crew members.
Unlike mainstream carriers, most deep discounters like Allegiant cannot switch you to Delta, United, or other legacy airlines if there's a delay or cancelation, forcing you to rely on them to fix mechanical issues or change you on their fleet's routes only.
Allegiant on Thursday released a statement on the troubles with Flight #500:
Allegiant flight 500, with scheduled service from Las Vegas to Indianapolis, Indiana departed McCarran International Airport (LAS) at 9:00 a.m.local time on June 22, 2016. During takeoff, one of the aircraft’s tires deflated. The plane safely left the ground and declared an emergency to return back to LAS. The plane landed safely at 11:14 a.m. and was inspected by Allegiant’s maintenance team and McCarran International Airport fire crews. The aircraft was deemed safe to taxi back to the gate under its own power. There were 206 passengers and 7 crew members on board. Passengers were deplaned and given meal vouchers.
Passengers boarded another aircraft which pushed back from the gate at 1:55 p.m. but returned to the gate shortly thereafter due to a maintenance issues.
The flight was subsequently rescheduled to June 23, 2016 and operated as flight 5500 departing LAS at 9:55 a.m. with an estimated arrival time of 4:08 p.m. local time in Indianapolis.
We apologize to our passengers for the disruption to their travel plans. All passengers were provided with meal vouchers and $150 off vouchers for future travel on Allegiant. Passengers who reside more than 50 miles from the airport were provided with hotel accommodations. Passengers who chose not to fly on the rescheduled flight could change their itinerary to another in the Allegiant network or receive a refund of the airfare portion their itinerary.
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