After a pilot strike that grounded Spirit Airlines for several days, the airline is back up and running, but not without some turbulence.
There were some very frustrated passengers at Myrtle Beach International Airport Friday, where Myrtle Beach's biggest airline carrier was also the biggest pain for many passengers.
They say everyone has a nightmare travel story. If travelers at the Myrtle Beach International didn't have one before Friday, they certainly do now.
"Traveling just isn't fun anymore," said Carrie Wendt, a Spirit passenger whose flight was delayed several times before ultimately being canceled.
For Carrie, just like many of Spirit customers at Myrtle Beach International, the day began around 9:00 a.m., arriving at the airport for an 11:00 a.m. flight.
"We got here a little bit early to confirm that the plane was actually going to leave at 11 and they told us 'yes it was going to leave at 11,'" recalled Leah Hornberger, another Spirit passenger.
"We've been here two hours before flight time, which was 9:00 this morning," said Leo Harrodian.
Then the flight was delayed, and again, and again. Passengers finally boarded their 11:00 a.m. flight around 4:00 p.m.
"We stayed on the plane for about 20 minutes and they said there was thunderstorms in Chicago, and the crew had been on flight status too long, and they had to cancel the flight," explained John Buck, a Spirit passenger.
"They told you the flight was leaving at 11. This flight was not going to leave at 11, and they knew it. They flat out lied," exclaimed Troy Hornberger. "It's insulting to be treated that way, and they won't do anything for you, and they won't give you an answer."
After waiting all day - "Then we had to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait," said a tired 7-year-old Jake Cunningham.
"I keep getting the same answers. We gotta wait in line for another two hours to uncheck," said Harrodian.
As one could see walking into the Myrtle Beach airport Friday, waiting in line for several hours doesn't afford passengers much opportunity for movement.
"I dropped my daughter off at the plane and I'm in the same spot that I was when she got off a few hours ago. I haven't moved," said Wendt. "We don't know what else to do because we have nobody to talk to. We can't get thru to anybody on the phone."
Leo Harrodian spent much of the day looking for answers.
He said, "(Spirit) knows the flight has been canceled, but I have to uncheck here before I can maybe recheck for tomorrow morning. This is the second cancellation. We were supposed to fly out Friday. Now it's Friday."
"We were supposed to be flying out since Monday," said Wendt, "and we're still here. Five days we've been waiting."
"I got a full day of parking I have to pay for, for nothing," continued Harrodian.
Inside the airport, Spirit employees absorbed the brunt of a days worth of frustration. Passengers in line bombarded employees at the ticket counter, folks yelling questions like, "When's the next flight?" "Do we get a voucher?" "Do we get a place to stay?" And of course, "Where's the refund?"
Perhaps Harrodian summed up many Spirit passengers thoughts in seven words: "This Spirit strike has screwed up everything."
