Hundreds of Spirit Airlines passengers stranded at airports for another night

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Hundreds of Spirit Airlines passengers stranded at airports for another night

Spirit Airlines passengers were reportedly still stranded at multiple airports on Monday night, forced to sleep in terminals for another night after weather and some operational challenges resulted in hundreds of delays and cancellations over the weekend.

Passenger Emma Wareus was one of many who were left with very few options.

Wareus had been stranded in Washington, D.C. for over 30 hours after her flight was delayed on Sunday, she said, and landed in Puerto Rico at 1 a.m. Tuesday after paying $1,300 for an American Airlines ticket.

Wareus said there was a mob of people at the San Juan airport trying to figure out what to do. She even stumbled on passengers who came to her since Friday, she said.

And although Wareus was able to find temporary accommodation, she told FOX Business that others weren't so lucky. In particular she recalled seeing mothers with their children, pregnant women and the elderly trying to sleep on the airport floor.

These people were struggling to find flights because they couldn't afford to pay for another ticket and slept in the airport when they couldn't afford another night at a hotel, she said. Other passengers were helping them with basic necessities as Spirit agents did not come in to work that day Monday.

FlightAware.com reports that 227 Spirit flights were delayed on Monday and 58 flights were cancelled, leaving many passengers on their own. Images of passengers waiting in long lines and sprawling out on the terminal grounds appeared on social media.

While many passengers were stranded at the San Juan airport like Wareus, hundreds more were waiting in airports throughout the nation to receive assistance. Reports showed passengers filling Orlando International airport.

Dozens of flights were canceled at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport on Sunday, news outlets reported.

Another Twitter user tweeted on Tuesday morning that her boss had been stranded in Florida for 2 days!

Likewise, passengers were also facing issues at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in California and Los Angeles International Airport ( Georgia).

In some cases, passengers were even losing their luggage in the midst of the chaos.

Wareus said she still doesn't have her luggage as of Tuesday morning.

I still don't know my bags where they are, she tweeted Monday night. Now a full 35 hours later - standing for 10 hours, no help, no sort of resolve except for a $100 token.

The South Florida-based FOX Business told FOX Business in a statement Monday that the airline needed to make proactive cancellations of some flights across the network but the majority of flights are still scheduled as planned.

Spirit says that it is frustrating sometimes when our guests change unexpectedly. We are working to solve this, Spirit said in a statement. We ask Guests to monitor their emails and flight status before heading to the airport.

As of 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, 275 flights were delayed and another 55 flight cancellations were reported, according to FlightAware.