Spirit Airlines experiencing 'technical issue'; passengers complain of hours-long delays
(NEXSTAR) - Budget airline Spirit is warning travelers they may experience "longer than usual lines" on Thursday as the company faces "a technical issue."
Details are limited, but the airline says the issue had caused its website, its app, and its airport kiosks to be unavailable as of 8 a.m. CT.
"We anticipate longer than usual lines at the airport so please plan on arriving early," Spirit wrote on Twitter.
A representative for Spirit Airlines did not disclose the cause of the issue, nor what impact the technical issue is expected to have on Spirit flights.
One Twitter user commented that they had been "stuck on a plane for 2 hours not taking off."
Another claimed his flight from Baltimore/Washington International Airport deplaned early on Thursday morning before eventually re-boarding three hours after the scheduled takeoff time.
“I'm at DFW my flight was to take off at 5:15 a.m.,” another person tweeted just before 8 a.m. CT. “Still waiting…”
Others, including some who were waiting for their flights, passed the time by making jokes.
“Sorry for cheating on you @Delta,” one tweeted, along with a video of passengers waiting at the gate.
“@SpiritAirlines have you tried turning the computer off and back on again?” another user sarcastically asked.
Spirit directed flyers to track their flight at FlightAware.com, a site that tracks flights, delays, and cancellations.
There are multiple Spirit flights that were able to depart Thursday morning. One, a flight between Atlanta and Los Angeles appeared to depart nearly an hour later than scheduled. Another from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale, Florida also left about 45 minutes late.
It's unclear if these delays were caused by the technical issue.
Developing