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Spirit says weather, ‘operational challenges’ to blame for flight cancelations, delays

Spirit Airlines
Posted at 11:35 AM, Aug 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-08-02 15:51:57-04

If you have plans to travel via Spirit Airlines, you may want to check your flight status and adjust accordingly because trips have been canceled or delayed across the country.

In a statement obtained by WEWS, the airline said Monday that “a series of weather and operational challenges” have caused travel disruptions.

A Spirit spokesperson said the operational issues are a mixture of challenges that the entire industry is facing during the busy travel season as airlines begin to scale their operations again.

According to FlightAware, Spirit had canceled 261 flights and 120 flights had been delayed Monday as of 2:30 p.m. ET. American Airlines also had a significant number of cancellations at about 379 on Monday.

Spirit said it’s “working around the clock to get back on track” in the wake of the disruptions over the weekend.

“We needed to make proactive cancellations to some flights across the network, but the majority of flights are still scheduled as planned,” the airline said. “We understand how frustrating it is for our guests when plans change unexpectedly, and we're working to find solutions.”

Spirit is encouraging its customers to actively monitor their emails and flight status before heading to their airport.

“As a team, we strive every day to get our guests where they need to go on time. Our focus will continue to be on taking care of our guests," the airline said.

Travelers at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas are among those being affected by the disruptions. The airport warned that several Spirit flights have been canceled there.

Along with the weather, “schedule month change over,” and IT outages may have contributed to the operational challenges that Spirit is experiencing, according to a statement released by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

"A few news outlets have incorrectly reported that this may be due to a strike. This is not true. There is no flight attendant strike. Crews are not the issue,” wrote the association.