Spirit Airlines cancels dozens of Orlando flights to conduct jet inspections

ORLANDO, Fla. - On Friday, cancelations were causing chaos at Orlando International Airport. 

Spirit Airlines scrubbed flights as 25 of the aircraft within the company’s fleet are undergoing "necessary inspection" the airline said. Passengers traveling out of MCO are left hanging in the balance.
Richard Kent is one of them. 

"We were supposed to fly out at 8 o'clock tonight," said the Kansas City native who is trying to get back home.

He said he received an email from the airline telling him his flight was canceled. The airline informed Kent that it made arrangements to accommodate him, he told us. FOX 35 News checked in with him hours after initial contact, and he said Spirit is providing a hotel for Friday night. He said the airline also booked Kent and his wife a flight home Saturday evening nearly 24 hours after his originally scheduled 9 p.m. Friday flight.

However, another impacted passenger we spoke with says he is still waiting for Spirit to accommodate him. Eduardo Trinidad is attempting to get to Puerto Rico. He said Spirit moved his Thursday night Flight to Friday night, meaning he will have to wait for hours inside MCO with his family.

A third passenger, Sebastian Diego is headed to Houston, Texas. He's worried he won't make it in time for his niece's fifth birthday. 

Diego said, "We got to the gate, and they told us the flight was canceled."

That happened around 4 a.m. Friday, and ever since he's been waiting around for an update.

FOX 35 reached out to Spirit to see how the airline is accommodating all these passengers. In a statement, the airline said, "We've canceled a portion of our scheduled flights to perform a necessary inspection of a small section of 25 of our aircraft. While this action is being taken out of an abundance of caution, the impact to our network is expected to last several days as we complete the inspections and work to return to normal operations."

While frustrating, aviation expert Shem Malmquist says inspections are necessary. Malmquist is a visiting instructor at the Florida Institute of Technology and an active current B-777 Captain.
He said it’s all about safety.

"I realize it's frustrating, but the airline is responsible for your safety first.

He said there are a variety of reasons as to why the airline deemed it necessary to ground those 25 planes and inspect them.=

"It could be that its [inspection] is deferred, it's not urgent, and generally it's not, because it's not like it's not an un-airworthy situation," he said.

As of the last check, Spirit had canceled 45 flights at MCO. Travelers are asked to monitor their email and check their flight status on spirit.com or the Spirit Airlines App before heading to the airport.