Ultra-low-cost American airliner Spirit Airlines has marked another day of hardship after it was forced to cancel the majority of its scheduled flights on Wednesday as a result of staffing shortages and outages that have riddled the company’s system.
Figures provided by flight tracking service FlightAware have indicated that Spirit Airlines called off some 60% of its scheduled flights, a tally that accounts for the majority of canceled flights within the US on Wednesday.
The latest cancellations come on top of scrubbed flights that have been ongoing since at least Sunday, when passengers were starting to endure setbacks that were brought on by weather-related delays, technology outages and staffing shortages.
In fact, Sunday saw about 60% of Spirit Airlines’ flights canceled, with another 42% of flights called off that following Monday. On Tuesday, another 61% of scheduled flights were a no-go.
A line of Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at the Orlando International Airport Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. Air travel is down during the coronavirus outbreak.
© AP Photo / Chris O'Meara
Although Spirit has apologized for the massive delays that have forced thousands to wait out in packed airport terminals and baggage areas, the apologies have largely fallen flat as many customers have since lashed out against the company.
“Can’t wait to have a lovely discussion with @SpiritAirlines when I get back home,” netizen Kimberly Jones wrote in a Wednesday Twitter post. “Thanks for cancelling my flight and then providing a $50 voucher as if that takes care of this craziness you have put us through.”
Another Twitter user detailed that they missed their flight to Las Vegas, Nevada, after having to book an alternative flight with Spirit. “Thank you @SpiritAirlines for cancelling all flights and not responding to my calls/texts/emails about my refund. Can't wait to be apart [sic] of the class action lawsuit coming your way,” they wrote.
In a statement given to The Hill, the airliner explained that the staffing shortages emerged after encountering issues with the company’s scheduling system, and that a network reboot would soon enough remedy the situation.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the union that represents flight attendants working for Spirit Airlines, has confirmed that it met with airline officials to address the staffing issues, emphasizing that it reached an agreement encouraging staff to pick up additional flight shifts to ease flight backups.
The union also noted in a Wednesday statement that “in an operational breakdown like this, the airline needs to ’reset’ in order to recover quicker and prevent further disruptions that could last weeks,” before adding that the incoming network reboot “will see significant cancellations in the short term but avoid long term disruptions.”
The culprit in the end was the technical snag that prevented crews from accessing the airline’s scheduling system, leaving staffers unsure of what flights they were meant to cover.
Similar cancellations were also experienced by American Airlines, however, it was not to the severe extent that was dealt on Spirit Airlines. American Airlines issued about 118 cancellations due to severe storms that hit the Texas area.