Spirit Airlines faces Florida flight delays and cancellations, traveler frustration

Spirit Airlines travelers faced a surge in flight cancellations and delays Monday, causing frustration at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport.

Thirty-five percent of the airline’s 700-plus scheduled flights for Monday were canceled by the evening, according to data from FlightAware.com.

Spirit blamed weather and “operational challenges” for the problems, citing difficulties ramping back up during the pandemic to meet increasing demand for travel.

Five Spirit flights from Fort Lauderdale were canceled and 10 delayed Monday, and four flights from Orlando were canceled and eight delayed, according to the airports’ websites.

“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,” said Spirit spokesperson Field Sutton in a statement. “We needed to make proactive cancellations to some flights across the network, but the majority of flights are still scheduled as planned.”

Nationwide, more than 9,000 flights were delayed and 3,000 canceled as of Monday evening, according to data from FlightAware.com. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which experienced a thunderstorm Sunday, saw the most cancellations.

Spirit is not the only airline struggling to get back to the level of service maintained before the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, American Airlines made dozens of short-notice cancellations, citing staff shortages. Miami International Airport was largely unaffected.

Sutton, the company spokesperson, said Spirit is not facing similar staffing shortages. Spirit Airlines directed customers in need of assistance to the chat function on its website.

Spirit plans to launch its first flights from MIA in October.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.