SAN ANTONIO – Spirit Airlines and American Airlines are now in day three of nationwide flight cancellations, which started Monday.
Some passengers waiting on their flights at airports experienced hours of waiting following canceled and delayed flights as a result of bad weather, staffing shortages and operational issues.
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We are experiencing operational challenges in some areas of our network. Before going to the airport, check your email and current flight status here: https://t.co/yuPJDPxeNu. The fastest way to receive assistance is to visit our webchat: https://t.co/QnlZcUCMtk. pic.twitter.com/E176h8KHjN
— Spirit Airlines (@SpiritAirlines) August 2, 2021
According to Flight Aware, more than half, 61%, of Spirit flights have been canceled as of today and 12% of American Airline flights have been canceled. Twenty-percent of Spirit flights have been delayed, and 29% of American Airline flights have been delayed.
American Airlines issued KSAT12 a statement addressing the delays and cancellations.
“A prolonged severe weather event in Dallas Fort-Worth on Sunday night into Monday morning brought sustained heavy rain, strong winds, lightning, microbursts and hail to our largest hub. The nine-hour weather event resulted in flight delays, cancellations and almost 100 diversions. Our team members are working around the clock to care for our customers.”
American Airlines statement
Spirit Airlines issued KSAT12 both an apology and statement addressing their situation on Wednesday. They report decreasing lines and that cancellations will drop starting tomorrow.
“The last three days were extremely difficult for our Guests and Team Members, and for that we sincerely apologize. We continue to work around the clock to get our Guests where they need to be.
We’ve dealt with overlapping operational challenges including weather, system outages and staffing shortages that caused widespread irregularities in our operation and impacted crew scheduling. These issues were exacerbated by the fact that we are in peak summer travel season with very high industry load factors and more limited options for Guest re-accommodations.
After working through yesterday’s proactive cancellations, we’ve implemented a more thorough reboot of the network, allowing us to reassign our crews more efficiently and restore the network faster. As a result, cancellation numbers will progressively drop in the days to come.
By taking an in-depth look at the challenges we’re facing, we have identified opportunities for improvement that will help us operate a more resilient network and better serve our Guests.”
Spirit Airlines statement
Angry passengers voiced their complaints to the companies directly and on Twitter. Passengers who tried contacting the airline services experienced hold-times stretching hours from American Airlines customer service. Others included pictures of packed airports and long lines, screenshots of tickets, cancelled flights and responses they received from the companies.
#Chatbot #fail from #spiritairlines. This is how NOT to build an #AI #smartagent (though I guess, considering the language, that it may be someone in India handling the chat) pic.twitter.com/beFh3CUrlM
— Antonel Neculai (@antonelneculai) August 3, 2021
@SpiritAirlines none of your own policies were followed. There are STILL people stranded in SJU. And I STILL don’t know where my bags are. Now a full 35hours later - standing for 10hours, no help, no sort of resolve except for a disrespectful $50 voucher. @USATODAY @CNN pic.twitter.com/tXagxjiEZy
— Emma Wareus (@Emma_Wareus) August 3, 2021
So Spirit canceled my flight today. No refund or other options. But hey I got a $21 meal voucher that expired yesterday #spiritairlines pic.twitter.com/FE8q7y3nQ1
— Meyati (@AdamItayem172) August 3, 2021
So many @SpiritAirlines flights at O’hare Airport today either canceled or significantly delayed. No staff on sight. No explanation. No excuse by anybody. What a mess in the middle of a pandemic. Never ever! #spiritairlines #ohare #flightscancelled #flights #spirit pic.twitter.com/dI5l1goEQt
— Kadir Özkan (@ozzkankadir) August 2, 2021
The amount of cancelled flight by #AmericanAirlines out of DFW is asinine! 1st flight cancelled and rescheduled 2 days from original departure date. Moved up the flight for next day and that flight was cancelled too… why can you not have contingency plans #AmericanAirlines
— Bailey (@bailien51) August 2, 2021
Can @SpiritAirlines please explain how 20 flights at Orland International don’t have flight crews? We’re packed into this airport in a PANDEMIC with no flights in sight. #spiritairlines pic.twitter.com/iGPbuH8zM9
— ReyGo (@amyreygos) August 1, 2021
When #spiritairlines leaves you stranded in Puerto Rico with no employees in sight and holds your luggage and money hostage.
— Tito Arias (@2touchTito) August 2, 2021
We were stuck overnight with no clothes or essentials for our 3 or 1 year olds and are still without answers and searching for flights #Spirit #useless pic.twitter.com/jzKqf9Yuhn
This has become an expensive trip after @AmericanAir canceled 3 of my flights. Hotel NY $349 Uber from EWR $72 buying one way home LGA-BNA-DFW $376 because agent couldn’t put me on that flight when mine was canceled so I just bought it pic.twitter.com/4yQzkvBFFO
— John Tison (@TisonJohn) August 3, 2021
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