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St. Pete-Clearwater airport spared as Allegiant pilot strike averted at last hour

 
Allegiant Air is expanding its flight network, offering five new nonstop routes into St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. Passengers from Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Richmond, Va., Hagerstown, Md., and Omaha will be able to fly directly into Tampa Bay on the new routes beginning in February and March.
Allegiant Air is expanding its flight network, offering five new nonstop routes into St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. Passengers from Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Richmond, Va., Hagerstown, Md., and Omaha will be able to fly directly into Tampa Bay on the new routes beginning in February and March.
Published April 2, 2015

CLEARWATER — A strike by Allegiant Air pilots that could have virtually shut down St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport was averted at the last hour.

The strike was put on hold by order of a U.S. District Court on Wednesday evening just a few hours before it was supposed to start at 3 a.m. today.

The work stoppage would have been acutely felt at St. Pete-Clearwater International, where Allegiant flies to 40 cities and is the airport's dominant carrier. It also was the only airline scheduled to operate there on Thursday, with 29 flights. In the hours leading up to the imminent strike, the airline and the pilots union blamed each other for the impasse that could have grounded up to 250 flights across the country.

"Allegiant Air had been actively negotiating with the Teamsters through November of last year, and had hoped to continue these negotiations to avoid this disruption for our passengers," said a company statement. "However, instead of addressing their issues at the bargaining table, the Teamsters have resorted to heavy-handed and disruptive tactics rather than working toward a resolution."

But Allegiant pilot Eric Higgins, 37, said the union feels it has no choice after two years of unproductive talks.

The pilots believe that Allegiant retaliated against them for their 2012 decision to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 1224 by rolling back salary benefits and altering the scheduling system.

"We just want the company to comply with federal law," Higgins said, "and that means the company immediately and completely restores the status quo."

The pilots' union called this a "status quo strike" to restore its lost benefits.

"They were furious when we voted the Teamsters in," Higgins said, "and still are."

The airline said that if there is a work stoppage in the future, it would contact any affected travelers. Allegiant said customers affected by future strikes could call (773) 358-1811 for more information, but warned that wait times might be "extremely long."

Contact Jamal Thalji at thalji@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3404. Follow @jthalji on Twitter.