Spirit Airlines strands passengers at airports; company blames ‘operational challenges’

(Gray News) - Frustrated passengers expressed their outrage over the weekend after Spirit Airlines canceled their flights. The company said it is working on getting back on track after the travel disruptions.

Spirit blamed the situation on operational challenges and weather, a representative said in an emailed statement Monday. Customers were urged to monitor their emails and flight status before heading to the airport.

Flight delays and cancellations were reported at the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Orlando, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and New Orleans, according to media reports.

Some at the Orlando airport said they waited for nine hours, WOFL said, while a woman bound for Denver had been stuck at the Ft. Lauderdale airport for 12 hours on Sunday, WPLG reported.

In its statement, the company said rumors of a strike are “100% false. We have a fantastic team of pilots working very hard during this busy travel season. We are not experiencing any sort of work action from any work group.

“We’re working around the clock to get back on track in the wake of some travel disruptions over the weekend due to a series of weather and operational challenges. We needed to make proactive cancellations to some flights across the network, but the majority of flights are still scheduled as planned.”

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