Spirit Airlines is dealing with angry customers across the country after the carrier announced cancellations and delays for most flights over the past three days.
CNN reported that the trouble started last Sunday when cancellations and delays accounted for 60 percent of the schedule. Monday wasn’t any better, with over 300 cancellations and more than 200 delays, which accounted for over 70 percent of planned flights.
The swap meet of airlines blamed the issues on “overlapping operational challenges including weather, system outages and staffing shortages in some areas.”
By Tuesday at 5:10 pm EST, Spirt Airlines canceled 388 flights and delayed 91 more, per FlightAware. As the company grapples with the schedule, travelers have been left stranded in airports. Customers in Tampa, Florida, complained about long lines and lack of communication from the air carrier, according to Fox 13 News.
“We stood in line for over three hours to speak to someone,” one flyer told the news station.
“It’s been a lot of jumping through hoops, trying to keep a good head, good attitude to just make it to where we need to go,” said another.
Fox Business interviewed a traveler who was reportedly stranded in Puerto Rico for 30 hours and had to come out of pocket to get a ticket with another airline. Other passengers were not as lucky.
“These people were struggling to find flights out because they couldn’t afford to pay for another ticket and slept in the airport because they also couldn’t afford another night at a hotel,” she explained. “Other passengers were helping them with basic necessities as Spirit agents did not come into work that day [Monday].”
On Monday, Spirit issued a statement to Fox Business claiming the airline “needed to make proactive cancellations to some flights across the network, but the majority of flights are still scheduled as planned.”
“We understand how frustrating it is for our Guests when plans change unexpectedly, and we’re working to find solutions,” the statement continued. “We ask Guests to actively monitor their emails and flight status before heading to the airport.
