ATLANTA — Travel setbacks continue for thousands of travelers in Atlanta and across the country after Spirit Airlines suddenly shut down following a failed deal for a government bailout.
“I’ve been flying Spirit for years, and they’ve always been good to us,” one passenger said.
Thousands of travelers remain stranded as of Monday morning, with uncertainty over when they will be rebooked or compensated. Tiffany Dover, owner of Atlanta-based Selah Travel, says it is still unclear how long the disruption will last.
“There were a lot of travelers at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson stuck trying to get on other flights with other airlines and some of them were reporting that all of the other airlines will be helping them; for a lot of destinations they just did not have flights that were available,” Dover said.
The sudden shutdown has also impacted the airline’s workforce, with more than 17,000 employees now out of a job. The closure includes all of the airline’s customer service operations. Spirit says it could not provide advance notice to employees or travelers due to ongoing attempts to reach a deal with the federal government.
Before the shutdown, Spirit was Atlanta’s fourth-largest carrier by flights, behind Delta, Southwest and Frontier.
Other airlines say they are stepping in to help. JetBlue says it is offering some $99 fares for impacted travelers, while American says it is looking into adding larger planes or more seats. With Spirit counters dark since it’s 3 a.m. Saturday shutdown, Atlanta-based Delta and other carriers have been offering so-called “rescue fares.”
Still, some travelers say they are unsure what to do.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do other than waiting, I don’t know what to do,” another passenger said.
The Department of Transportation says the majority of airlines will be capping ticket prices for Spirit travelers who need to rebook canceled flights.
Dover says travelers with insurance may have a better chance of getting reimbursed.
“It’s really important to have travel insurance even when you’re traveling domestically; definitely internationally just because you don’t know what type of circumstances you could face when you travel,” she said.
She adds that while some travelers may have to pay more to rebook flights, she does not expect long-term price increases across the industry.
“Whats happening for some people and I feel for them, is whatever the cost of their ticket was with Spirit, because Spirit that was their claim to fame being a lower-priced carrier, if the ticket with other airlines cost a bit more that passenger is going to have to pay the difference in cost,” Dover said.
“I’ll say you have your Saks Fifth Avenue clients and then you have your Ross clients, they’re too different markets. So what Spirit does or did even when they were in business, I don’t think has much effect on Delta,” she added.
Dover says the situation highlights the importance of travel insurance, especially in cases where a travel supplier ceases operations.
The airline’s shutdown follows financial struggles over the past few years, which were amplified by soaring jet fuel prices tied to conflict in the Middle East.
WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story.
