'The Most Horrible Experience': Spirit Airlines Travelers Outraged Over Cancelations
BOSTON (CBS) -- A Spirit Airlines ticket in hand didn't mean much at Logan Airport on Wednesday.
"We are disappointed, upset. And we don't know what we are going to do," said traveler Ivana Ybranovyc.
These two sisters from Manchester, New Hampshire, had hoped to fly to Atlanta for a wedding, only to find out at Logan that their flight was among the avalanche of Spirit cancellations.
"I didn't get any email or notification that it was cancelled until I got here," said Amra Melkic.
Day four of the Spirit Airlines nightmare brought an apology from the airline, with more than 1,000 flights canceled, including 61 percent of its nationwide schedule on Tuesday.
Spirit Airlines says trouble began with bad weather on Sunday, but things really got ugly when some computer systems crashed. Many would-be passengers have been told there is simply no flight crew to fly their plane.
Andrew Montana booked a Puerto Rican vacation for his sister's birthday. But at this point, they're just hoping Spirit springs for a Boston hotel room tonight.
"They're saying there's nothing they can do about it because there's no pilots, no crews, no planes. It's a fake airlines," said Montana. "We're all desperate. We were all sold a dream, and we never received anything."
Indeed, angry travelers grounded by the Spirit debacle have jammed ticket counters across the country.
"It's been the most horrible experience," said Montana.
Steven McDermott spent six hours in line at Logan after flying into Boston for his young son's mouth surgery.
"I had to send him off to have surgery, by himself, without his father, because I had to sit back and resolve us getting back home tonight," said McDermott.
He and his son might make it back to Florida on JetBlue Thursday. But Judy Barr from Shrewsbury doesn't know when she'll make it there to be with a sick relative now on life support.
"Trying desperately not to lose my cool and get upset because the main thing is to be with my family," said Barr.
Roughly 50 percent of Spirit's flights were canceled Wednesday, and the low-cost carrier is not promising that Wednesday will be any better.