Video of an Allegiant Air flight slamming on its brakes during takeoff at Orlando Sanford International Airport spread widely on social media and generated thousands of searches — understandably. An aborted takeoff feels alarming. But context matters here, and Allegiant’s actual safety record tells a different story than the headlines might suggest.
The Orlando Sanford Aborted Takeoff: What Happened
Allegiant Flight 600, bound for Indianapolis, aborted takeoff at Orlando Sanford International Airport after the pilot received a warning related to the plane’s environmental control system — the system that monitors and manages cabin air pressure and temperature. Emergency crews responded, all passengers deplaned, and the flight was delayed nearly four hours before resuming.
Passenger Candice Lyon captured the moment on video: the aircraft had accelerated down the runway before braking sharply. Despite the scare, Lyon praised the pilot’s decision-making. Allegiant did not publicly disclose the exact nature of the warning — whether mechanical, electronic, or sensor-related — and did not confirm whether the aircraft was switched or repaired before departure.
A separate incident involved a different Allegiant flight — AAY1325, bound for the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee — which also aborted takeoff at Orlando Sanford under similar circumstances. The two incidents are distinct, both originating from the same airport.
What an Aborted Takeoff Actually Means
An aborted takeoff — also called a rejected takeoff — is a situation where pilots stop the aircraft before it becomes airborne after detecting something unusual. It is not, in itself, evidence that something went wrong. In fact, it is precisely the opposite: it means the aircraft’s systems flagged a potential issue and the pilots responded correctly by stopping.
Commercial pilots practice rejected takeoff procedures extensively in simulators throughout their careers. Airlines follow strict FAA procedures covering exactly when and how to abort. The decision threshold is intentionally conservative: a suspected issue, not a confirmed one, is sufficient to trigger the procedure. Allegiant’s own position — stated in response to the Flight 600 incident — was that there was no emergency; the pilot exercised a precautionary abort.
The reason aborted takeoffs generate significant passenger anxiety is that they feel sudden and dramatic. But from an aviation safety standpoint, an aborted takeoff that ends with everyone safely deplaned is the system working as designed.
Allegiant’s Overall Safety Record
| Metric | Status |
| Fatal passenger accidents | Zero — none since founded in 1997 |
| Fleet | 107 aircraft, entirely Airbus A320 family (A319 and A320) |
| Certification | FAA-certified Scheduled Air Carrier; IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certified |
| AirlineRatings.com rating | 7 stars — the highest possible rating, reflecting fatality-free record and very low pilot incident rate |
| Founded | 1997; operates nonstop leisure routes from 110+ US cities |
Allegiant has never had a fatal passenger accident in its entire history of operations. That is a factual statement consistent across multiple independent sources, including the aviation safety analysis firm KN Aviation, AirlineRatings.com, and FAA records. The airline is one of 42 US commercial carriers to hold that distinction.
The 2018 60 Minutes Investigation: What It Found and What It Missed
Allegiant’s safety scrutiny intensified significantly after a 2018 CBS 60 Minutes investigation reported that the airline had experienced more than 100 serious mechanical incidents — including mid-air engine failures, smoke and fumes in the cabin, rapid descents, and aborted takeoffs — over a 22-month period. Allegiant initially refused a Freedom of Information request for maintenance records, which amplified the negative framing.
A subsequent independent data analysis by Visual Approach Analytics examined the same Service Difficulty Report data over a longer timeframe. Key findings: the 22-month period CBS analyzed happened to coincide with a peak in Allegiant’s incident rate, which had been falling since 2014. At the time of the 60 Minutes broadcast, 16 other US airlines had higher serious incident rates than Allegiant. The investigation’s limited airline sample and narrow time window created an incomplete picture.
The investigation did have real effects. Allegiant underwent operational reviews that led to documented improvements, completed a full fleet transition to the Airbus A320 family (retiring its older MD-80 aircraft, which had been a source of maintenance concerns), and accelerated its IOSA certification process. The post-2018 Allegiant is meaningfully different from the airline that appeared in that report.
Is Allegiant a Good Airline? Beyond Safety
Safety and overall airline quality are related but separate questions. Allegiant’s business model — ultra-low base fares with fees for most add-ons (seats, bags, priority boarding) — means that passengers who don’t read the booking fine print often encounter a higher final cost than the headline fare suggests. Passenger reviews consistently reflect this:
- Fares: Base fares are often genuinely low, but the total cost including seat selection, carry-on bag, and check-in fees typically lands higher
- Routes: All Allegiant flights are nonstop and point-to-point — no connections, no hubs. This is an advantage for leisure travelers from smaller cities who would otherwise need a connection
- On-time performance: Allegiant’s on-time performance has been broadly consistent with other US budget carriers, with weather and network effects (common across the industry) being the primary disruption source
- Customer service: Reviews are mixed, reflecting the budget carrier tradeoff between price and service depth
For leisure travelers who read the fare structure carefully and are primarily price-sensitive, Allegiant serves a genuine market gap. For travelers who prioritize full-service experience or complex itineraries, the model is a poor fit.
Allegiant’s El Paso Exit: What It Means
Allegiant announced the end of its El Paso operations — a route and station exit rather than a safety-related closure. Allegiant regularly reviews its route network and exits markets where load factors don’t support continued service. El Paso is one of several markets where Allegiant has contracted in recent years as part of its ongoing route rationalization strategy. This is standard practice for point-to-point budget carriers and is not connected to any safety concern about El Paso specifically.
Allegiant Travel Reviews: What Passengers Say
Allegiant’s passenger reviews cluster into predictable patterns. The most common complaints reflect its budget model: unexpected fee totals at checkout, limited customer service options when things go wrong, and flights that operate with older-feeling in-cabin environments relative to major carriers. The most common praise reflects why people choose it: getting to a Florida leisure destination nonstop from a smaller city at a price significantly below major carrier options.
‘Last page of Allegiant’ is a search that reflects the frustration many passengers experience during Allegiant’s booking process — a multi-page checkout flow that presents additional fee options at each stage, often resulting in a final price considerably above what the initial search showed. This is a deliberate revenue strategy common to ultra-low-cost carriers and is not a safety or quality issue, but it is a consistent source of passenger frustration in reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Allegiant Air safe to fly?
Yes. Allegiant Air has never had a fatal passenger accident since it was founded in 1997, is FAA-certified and IOSA-certified, and received a 7-star (highest possible) safety rating from AirlineRatings.com based on its fatality-free record and low pilot incident rate.
What happened at the Allegiant Orlando Sanford aborted takeoff?
Allegiant Flight 600 aborted takeoff at Orlando Sanford International Airport on July 9, 2025 after the pilot received a warning from the environmental control system (which manages cabin air pressure and temperature). Emergency crews responded, passengers deplaned, and the flight resumed after a nearly four-hour delay. The pilot’s decision was precautionary — an aborted takeoff in this context is the safety system working as intended.
Should I be worried about Allegiant’s safety record?
The available evidence doesn’t support significant concern. Allegiant has a fatality-free record spanning nearly three decades, flies an Airbus A320 family fleet (one of the best safety records in commercial aviation), and is subject to the same FAA oversight as all US carriers. The 2018 60 Minutes investigation raised legitimate questions that led to real improvements, but independent data analysis found Allegiant’s incident rate was not the outlier the report implied.
Why is Allegiant leaving El Paso?
Allegiant periodically exits routes and markets where load factors don’t justify continued service. The El Paso exit is a routine network rationalization decision, not connected to any safety or operational emergency.
Is Allegiant’s booking process misleading?
Allegiant’s multi-page checkout adds fees for seat selection, carry-on bags, priority boarding, and other services that aren’t included in the base fare. The final total is often substantially higher than the initial search price. This is a deliberate ultra-low-cost carrier revenue model, not technically deceptive (fees are disclosed before checkout completion), but it is a consistent source of passenger frustration documented in reviews.
Final Thoughts
An aborted takeoff at Orlando Sanford generates alarming video and understandable passenger anxiety. But Allegiant Air’s actual safety record — no fatal accidents in nearly 30 years of operations, a 7-star safety rating from AirlineRatings.com, IOSA certification, and an Airbus fleet with one of the industry’s best safety histories — tells a more reassuring story than the incident videos suggest. The more legitimate criticism of Allegiant centers on its booking fee structure and customer service experience rather than flight safety, which is the context that puts the Orlando Sanford incidents in proper perspective.