Allegiant Air flight delayed more than 11 hours

OAKLAND An Allegiant Air flight took off more than 11 hours behind schedule Monday night for an hour-and-a-half trip -- with many steaming passengers on board.

Flight 1032 was supposed to take off from Oakland International Airport for Provo, Utah at 9:30 a.m. local time, airport spokesperson Brian Kidd tells CBS News.

But it had to be towed back to the terminal due to a nose gear steering issue, and all passengers had to head back into the terminal.

Allegiant flew in a replacement craft that was slated to leave at 4 p.m. but it, too, had a mechanical problem.

So Allegiant flew in a third plane, which got to the airport at 6:40 p.m., Kidd says.

The airline picks up the story in a statement, saying, "Passengers were boarded quickly. However, the captain requested additional fuel and the aircraft returned to the gate before departing for Provo at 8:48 p.m."

It got there at 10:22 p.m., Kidd says, adding that passengers weren't stuck in a plane on the tarmac at any point.

Allegiant had to bring in replacement planes because it didn't have enough in Oakland, he says.

All the aircraft were Boeing MD 83s.

Allegiant points out that, "Every effort was made to keep the passengers as comfortable as possible, providing food and beverages, $100 dollars off vouchers and the option to cancel or reschedule the flight at no additional cost."

But that was far from enough to quell the anger many of the passengers were feeling.

CBS San Francisco station KPIX-TV showed one passenger saying, "I am outraged. This airline should go out of business immediately."

Another vowed never to fly Allegiant again, saying, "I'll probably tell everyone not to fly it, either."

Yet another called it "cruel and unusual punishment. These people are so insensitive. Been 12 hours at the airport and it's ridiculous. They should be out of business."

The number of passengers on the flight wasn't known.