Flight cancellations and delays by three major airlines are leaving stranded passengers frustrated at LAX Tuesday.
Spirit Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have each canceled or delayed hundreds of flights due to weather and other challenges.
“Two days I’ve been here” a man standing in line for more than 3 1/2 hours Tuesday morning to speak to a lone Spirit Airlines customer service representative said.
The man told KTLA he had been staying in a hotel each of the last two nights, but Spirit Airlines would not pay for his room.
The airline apparently doesn’t pay for hotels if a flight is delayed due to weather.
“I’m just asking again if they’ll give me a hotel or they’ll give me a refund,” the man said as he stood in line with hundreds of others.
A woman waiting for a flight to Las Vegas said she was scheduled to leave Monday but was still waiting.
“Just to Vegas. It’s only an hour, I could have drove by now,” the woman said.
“I vow to never fly on here. I went against my best judgment,” she said when asked how she felt about Spirit Airlines.
Meanwhile, a youth swim team may miss an all-star competition in Texas they have spent months training for.
Carlos Ramirez, the team’s chaperone, said the competition starts Wednesday but Spirit has canceled their flight.
“We’ve been exploring options. One of the options is to drive all the way over to Dallas,” Ramirez said.
He hopes the airline will still come through with a flight today but hasn’t heard good things from other passengers.
“From what people are saying, the next available flight would be like Friday … We’re hoping that’s not the case,” he said while waiting for a final word.
Spirit Airlines reported on Monday that they had to cancel about 290 flights, or about one-third of its schedule, citing the weather and “operational challenges.”
It was unclear exactly what the operational challenges were but many airlines are facing a shortage of employees after a large number of layoffs during the pandemic.
American Airlines and Southwest Airlines customers are experiencing similar challenges.
American Airlines had canceled 500 flights by late afternoon Monday, and for Sunday and Monday combined, Southwest had delayed more than 2,500 flights.