Passengers Traveling From Oakland To Utah Flight Stuck In Airport Almost 12 Hours
OAKLAND (CBS) - CBS5 in San Francisco is reporting some Utah-bound travelers leaving from Oakland International Airport were stuck at the airport for nearly 12 hours on Monday.
Allegiant Airlines Flight 1032 was scheduled to leave Oakland for Provo around 9:30 a.m. Monday, but shortly before takeoff, the plane returned to the gate due to mechanical problems, passengers told CBS5. An Allegiant Airlines spokesperson said the issue was a problem with the plane's landing gear.
A second plane was sent to pick up the passengers at 3:30 p.m., but passengers said that jet was not allowed to take off because it was having overheating issues.
The third and final plane, which flew in from Phoenix, arrived in Oakland at 6:40 p.m., say passengers. But it too had to return to the terminal after the pilot requested more fuel – delaying the flight for about hour, passenger say.
The flight bound for Provo finally took off at 8:48 p.m. According to the airline's website, Flight 1032 is normally scheduled to arrive in Provo at 12:10 p.m. Mountain Time.
Passengers expressed their frustration in videos and sent them to CBS5.
"I have been imprisoned by Allegiant Airlines for over nine hours and I am outraged. This airline should go out of business immediately," one man said on the video.
An airline spokesperson told CBS5 in a written statement, "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. We never want to delay or inconvenience our passengers, but the safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority."
