25 Passengers Left Behind By Allegiant Flight

**Matt Molnar** · 2008-03-16, 08:39 PM

The Huntsville Times:

Travelers left holding their bags as flight leaves without them
Posted by Erin Musland March 13, 2008 7:54 PM

More than 20 passengers watched in disbelief this morning as a trip to Walt Disney World, a romantic cruise, scuba diving lessons, spring break plans and a 55th wedding anniversary celebration vanished when their Allegiant Air flight flew away without them at Huntsville International Airport.

They stood in line at the Allegiant Air gate, tickets to Fort Lauderdale in hand, not really sure at first what had happened.

"I said, 'No they're not. There's 30 people behind us. They're not going to leave us,' " said Maria Rigas, a student at Calhoun Community College who was on her way to spring break in Florida.

Tyri Squyres, a spokeswoman for Allegiant Air, said by phone that about 25 passengers were checked in but did not get to board.

"We do view this as an operational error on our part," she said.

"We will be doing a thorough investigation of what happened and taking measures to make sure it does not happen again." Full Article]

**Midnight Mike** · 2008-03-16, 09:13 PM

There is something more to the story, this is what found in the article:

The people who did get through to Allegiant Air were told it was their fault for not getting to the airport two hours before their flight, Harris said.

If the requirement is for people to arrive "2" hours early & they were late, then yes, it was the passengers fault.

Sometimes it is surprising that passengers check in for their flights so close to departure time....

**JetBlueAirwaysFan** · 2008-03-16, 09:37 PM

But since when is there a mandatory check in time? I thought you only had to be at the gate 10 minutes before departure.

**Matt Molnar** · 2008-03-16, 09:52 PM

I wonder if their bags made it to the plane. I'm guessing they didn't since they would have complained in the article if they were separated from their bags.

Still, if 25 passengers were checked-in and at the gate when the plane pulled back, that's an eff up on the airline's part. And 2 hours for a domestic flight is ridiculous.

**T-Bird76** · 2008-03-16, 11:12 PM

You don't need to be at the airport 2 hours ahead for a domestic flight, an hour generally is the rule. I generally show up 45 mins ahead of time now. With online check in there's no need to show up so soon unless you're checking bags.

**Midnight Mike** · 2008-03-16, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by T-Bird76

You don't need to be at the airport 2 hours ahead for a domestic flight, an hour generally is the rule. I generally show up 45 mins ahead of time now. With online check in there's no need to show up so soon unless you're checking bags.

This is taken from the Allegiant website:

What time should I arrive at the airport for my flight?

Allegiant Air recommend a two (2) hour check-in time outside of Las Vegas and Orlando/Sanford. At both Las Vegas (LAS) and Orlando/Sanford (SFB), Allegiant recommends a two and a half (2.5) hour check-in time. This allows Allegiant Air's staff plenty of time to check in all passengers for the flight. The ticket counter does close 45 minutes prior to departure. The aircraft doors close 10 minutes prior to departure.

http://www.allegiantair.com/aaFAQ.php

**Alex T** · 2008-03-17, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by T-Bird76

You don't need to be at the airport 2 hours ahead for a domestic flight, an hour generally is the rule. I generally show up 45 mins ahead of time now. With online check in there's no need to show up so soon unless you're checking bags.

Also, as far as I can tell, Allegiant Air doesn't even have online check in.

So it would be neccesary to check in a 2 hrs, or when Allegiant says so.

Wonder why they don't have online check in.....?

Alex

**adam613** · 2008-03-17, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by Alex T

Wonder why they don't have online check in.....?

Maybe to save money...Planes burn a lot less fuel when there are 25 fewer pax onboard :)

**airmale516** · 2008-03-17, 01:09 PM

the article is very unclear... were the pax checked in ?, were they stuck in tsa line,
were they left at the tkt counter ?, were they left at the gate ?...
i mean if your boarded up and you see there are 25 people missing that were checked in
something is wrong, u dont just shut the a/c door and leave.

my 2 cents

**Matt Molnar** · 2008-03-17, 01:12 PM

They stood in line at the Allegiant Air gate, tickets to Fort Lauderdale in hand, not really sure at first what had happened.

**hiss srq** · 2008-03-17, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by airmale516

the article is very unclear... were the pax checked in ?, were they stuck in tsa line,
were they left at the tkt counter ?, were they left at the gate ?...
i mean if your boarded up and you see there are 25 people missing that were checked in
something is wrong, u dont just shut the a/c door and leave.

my 2 cents

So so not ture. I know a few station directors that do it regularly.