More passengers stranded after Spirit Airlines cancels additional flights at MYR

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The number of stranded passengers in Myrtle Beach grew on Tuesday after Spirit Airlines canceled additional flights.

According to information from the Myrtle Beach International Airport, 13 Spirit Airlines flights bound for Myrtle Beach were canceled. Those flights were scheduled to depart from cities including Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, and Fort Lauderdale.

The Florida-based budget carrier known for their ‘no-frills’ also canceled five flights that were set to depart MYR.

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The number of Spirit Airlines cancelations at MYR increased from the day before, as Monday saw six total flights canceled. By early Tuesday night, Spirit had canceled more than 400 flights, or nearly 60% of its schedule, according to the FlightAware tracking service. Nearly 100 other flights were late.

The airline released the following statement to WMBF News Tuesday:

We’re working around the clock to mitigate the travel disruptions caused by overlapping operational challenges including weather, system outages and staffing shortages in some areas of the operation. In responding to these challenges, Spirit has implemented some proactive cancellations again today to reset our operations. Most of our flights currently remain scheduled as planned.

We understand how frustrating it is for our Guests when plans change unexpectedly. We’re working to provide refunds for cancellations and, when possible, to reaccommodate our Guests. We have processed proactive cancellations early to give our Guests as much notice as possible, and we ask that they watch for notifications and check their flight status before heading to the airport. These targeted changes are mainly focused in markets where travelers have multiple options for alternative flights.

As a team, we strive every day to get our Guests where they need to go on time. We sincerely regret the inconvenience this has caused.

Michael Graham, the owner and president of the MGA Travel in Myrtle Beach, explained passengers’ rights when it comes to dealing with ongoing cancellations and delays from an airline.

“You don’t always have to accept what they offer,” Graham said. “You can collect some of your complaints, especially if you have receipts to go along with those and some unexpected travel costs that were caused due to the cancellation and contact their customer relations after you get home. And state you don’t feel like what they offered really compensated you. It doesn’t mean you’ll get it but you might get better than what you asked for.”

Graham recommends when you travel, always have a backup plan.

“The good thing about the Spirit flight, maybe it didn’t cost you that much money to begin with”, Graham said. “So if you’re getting delayed, it might be worth it to try and buy an airline ticket with another company. If you add up the time you’re unfortunately having to stay at the airport, kind of weigh that out.”

He also said travel insurance can help.

Graham added that there have been laws passed to benefit passengers, but he said those protections apply more for people who are on the tarmac, and not for cancellations.

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