A Spirit Airlines plane taxis to a runway at Orlando International Airport Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
Spirit Airlines canceled about 100 flights on Friday after pulling some planes out of service for inspections, and the airline expects the disruptions to last several days.
Spirit did not describe the nature of the inspections and did not respond when asked for further information.
By Friday afternoon, Spirit had canceled 11% of its schedule for the day, easily the highest percentage of scrubbed flights among leading U.S. carriers, according to tracking service FlightAware.
“We’ve cancelled a portion of our scheduled flights to perform a necessary inspection of a small section of 25 of our aircraft,” Spirit said in a statement. “The impact to our network is expected to last several days as we complete the inspections and work to return to normal operations.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of Spirit's decision to pull the planes from service for a “mandatory maintenance inspection." The FAA did not describe the inspections either, but said it "will ensure that the matter is addressed before the airplanes are returned to service.”
Spirit had 198 planes as of June 30, all of them variants of the Airbus A320 family, according to a company regulatory filing.
The airline told customers to check the status of their flight before going to the airport.
About half of the Spirit cancellations were at Florida’s Orlando International Airport, where Spirit is the second-largest carrier.
Spirit, which is based in Miramar, Florida, has canceled more than 3,600 flights this year, or 1.5% of its schedule. That is lower than the 2% cancellation rate at Frontier Airlines, a similar budget carrier, and rates for JetBlue Airways and United Airlines.
Senior Economist at Morning Consult Kayla Bruun shares thoughts on what to expect from the Fed's January meeting and where monetary policy is headed, as well as how consumers are faring.
Former Medtronic CEO and author of 'True North' Bill George explains the steps Boeing leadership must take to regain client and consumer trust after 737 Max 9 production was stopped.
Amazon blamed "regulatory hurdles" for calling off its proposed acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot. Not even a Roomba could clean up the deal's antitrust scrutiny.
To celebrate Flutter Entertainment's debut on the NYSE, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe shares her thoughts on the company's plans for growth, the future of online sportsbetting, and Super Bowl Sunday.
Investopedia's Caleb Silver shares thoughts on the upcoming Fed meeting, why individual investors are still slightly skeptical, and what he's looking for from mega cap tech earnings.
Season's greetings! Tax season, that is. January 29 is the first day you can file your tax return. We walk you through each step — plus a checklist you can download.
The Q-Collar helps protect athletes from impact-related concussions. Now, the U.S. Army is evaluating if the device could help reduce traumatic brain injury cased by blast weapons.
Co-founder and executive chairman of the board at Vaxxinity Lou Reese shares how the company is working to bring vaccines for chronic illnesses like heart disease and Parkinson’s to market with an eye for accessibility.
