Enduring a flight delay or two is never a fun experience, especially when you’re coming off a nice, relaxing holiday weekend. But the passengers on an Allegiant Airlines flight encountered not one, not two, but three delays after their plane experienced several issues Monday, including one that required the plane to turn around mid-air.
The Allegiant Airlines flight from Orlando to North Carolina was delayed three times for a total of 10 hours on Monday, WESH-TV reports.
Issues with flight 768 began shortly before take off, when the plane returned to the gate for a medical emergency.
After taking off, Allegiant tells WESH that the flight turned around mid-air because of an electrical issue.
Upon returning to Orlando, passengers exited the aircraft and mechanics were seen inspecting the cockpit area.
Passengers tell WESH that they were told the flight would resume in about 15 minutes. However, that turned into 10 hours of boarding and deplaning before the flight ever returned to the air.
When the flight began boarding again several hours later, passengers were halted as a piece of emergency equipment had to be inspected. The plane eventually landed in Raleigh, N.C., around 7:45 p.m., about 11 hours after originally scheduled.
The long delay is just the latest issue for Allegiant. Last fall, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it had increased scrutiny of the airline after a series of repair issues, onboard fires, and safety concerns from those who fly the airline’s planes.
Allegiant Airlines flight delayed three times before leaving Sanford [WESH-TV]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist