Judge blocks Allegiant Air pilot strike

A pilot strike at Allegiant Air - which flies non-stop to more destinations from The Eastern Iowa Airport than any other carrier - was temporarily averted by a judge Wednesday evening just hours before the walk-off was expected to affect 250 flights nationwide today.

Siding for now with the airline, U.S. Chief Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the union from 'engaging in, encouraging, or calling an unlawful strike against Allegiant” in violation of a federal law.

Allegiant, which earlier Wednesday cautioned passengers their travel plans were likely to be disrupted starting today, later advised passengers to show up as planned.

'All scheduled Allegiant flights are expected to operate normally,” the company said in a statement. 'We are very sorry for the uncertainty and stress that this situation may have caused you regarding your weekend travel.”

It was not immediately clear how long a strike would be blocked while the issues are addressed. The airline continued to tell passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.

Earlier Wednesday, the union representing Allegiant pilots announced it would go on strike over long-simmering issues, affecting more than 33,000 passengers in just one day.

The announcement followed more than two years of unsuccessful contract talks between the airline and the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224, and a slew of allegations made by the union and management alike.

Allegiant sued the union in federal court Monday, saying it had violated the Railway Labor Act by moving to strike before the parties had exerted every effort to settle their disputes.

The National Mediation Board, which oversees collective bargaining for U.S. airlines, had told the parties on March 23 to continue negotiations, the lawsuit said.

'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,” the airline asserted in its suit.

The union has alleged that Allegiant didn't abide by a July 2014 federal court injunction that directed the airline to restore the pilots' benefits and work rule protections to negotiated levels.

More than 98 percent of 473 participating pilots voted in January to authorize a strike.

'Striking is a last resort, but we cannot continue to stand by a company that flaunts the law by robbing the pilots of legally protected rights and benefits,” Allegiant pilot Tom Pozdro said in the union's statement.

In January, Allegiant announced it would beef up its presence at The Eastern Iowa Airport. It added flights between Cedar Rapids and destinations in Arizona, Florida and Nevada to meet projected demand.

'We know February and March are popular travel months for Cedar Rapids residents,” a company representative said at the time.

Allegiant is scheduled to fly two flights today from Cedar Rapids - to the Tampa Bay area in the morning and to Las Vegas in the evening.

Reuters contributed to this report.