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Allegiant temporarily halt pilots’ strike
By Kalea Hall
VIENNA
The only commercial airline in operation at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport was able to temporarily halt a pilot strike through a court order Wednesday.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air received a temporary restraining order from a Nevada court to stop Teamsters Local 1224, which represents Allegiant pilots, from striking.
“I have no control over whether or not the pilots honor the court order,” said Dan Dickten, director of aviation at the airport. “We are optimistic there will be no inconveniences as a result of the issues. Allegiant is a great airline, and we are very fortunate to have them operating from YNG.”
The strike had the potential to ground more than 250 flights and impact 33,000 customers today, but the union said Wednesday it would comply with the court order.
The company said it has “every reason to believe” the union will honor the court’s instructions, so all scheduled flights are expected to operate normally.
“This order will prevent a threatened pilots strike, which would have left potentially thousands of travelers with canceled flights over the Easter holiday weekend,” the company said in a press release.
On its website, the union initially said veteran pilots with the airline would not fly regularly scheduled routes today from the airline’s major hubs across the country, including Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa and Las Vegas.
“Although we know that our strike to restore the status quo is legal, we will comply with the judge’s decision and look forward to having our voices heard at the upcoming hearing,” said Corey Berger, an Allegiant pilot based in Phoenix.
The issues pilots have include the refusal by the company to re-establish a prior scheduling system and restore other basic benefits that they say have been illegally rolled back over a two-year period.
“Allegiant Air executives are pocketing millions while reducing benefits for pilots,” Berger said. “The deterioration of the scheduling system alone is keeping pilots from seeing their families, and many are facing exhaustion.”
The company has been in negotiations with the pilots since November, and in January, 98 percent of the company’s pilots, including those on reserve duty, voted to authorize a strike.
The next federally mediated negotiating session is scheduled for late April.
The Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has Allegiant flights for Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers and Myrtle Beach.