Allegiant Airlines Grounds Much of Fleet to Inspect Planes

Allegiant airlines grounded more than half of its fleet of MD-80 aircraft out of service on Friday to inspect the emergency slides, according to USA Today.

Passengers and crewmembers deployed the emergency slides to escape the tarmac after smoke was reported on an Allegiant plane in Las Vegas.

The parent company of Allegiant Airlines, Allegiant Travel Co., which is based in Las Vegas, issued a statement saying that the inspections were linked to an unspecified "compliance issue" that was found during a review that followed up Monday's evacuation at McCarran International Airport.

"All of the slides on the aircraft involved in the evacuation Monday were up-to-date and compliant," Jessica Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an e-mail. "However, that event triggered a maintenance review, which found issues with other slides in our fleet."

There were no injuries reported out of all the 144 passengers or among the six crewmembers that used the slides for the evacuation before takeoff for Preoria, Illinois. The grounding affects 30 of the airlines 52 planes.

President Andrew Levy made a statement apologizing for the disruption to travelers and promised that work would be conducted around-the-clock to ensure the safety of the aircrafts. The airline also said that delays, including rescheduling and cancellations were expected over the next several days. They expect all inspections to be completed by the end of September.

The FAA is checking Allegiant's compliance with door slide inspection requirements, according to FAA official Ian Gregor.

Allegiant Airlines serves approximately 100 small cities and vacation destinations, among them Orlando, Florida, Las Vegas and the Phoenix area.

Chris Jones, the spokesman for McCarran airport, reported little disruption. Staff was monitoring travelers to ensure there were orderly lines. Allegiant Airlines is responsible for travelers whose Las Vegas stay has been extended.

The airline is also adding service to 10 airports, including two in the New York City area.