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Hundreds of Spirit Airlines passengers stranded at FLL Wednesday

'I've never heard of weather that only picks on 1 airline,' passenger says

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Hundreds of Spirit Airlines passengers were stranded at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday morning, with some forced to hop on flights with other airlines.

"I've been here for about an hour already," a passenger said.

"Chaos, nobody is telling us nothing," another man said. "All they doing is just check your bag and (tell you to) wait inside."

Passengers heading to destinations from Colombia to New York weren't satisfied with employees telling them that the flight issues were weather related.

"Every other airline has no flights canceled and they're booking us on every other airline," passenger Steven Abrahamson said. "It only seems to be affecting Spirit. I've never heard of weather that only picks on one airline."

Some passengers slept on chairs or the floor after waiting for hours. They accused the airline of a lack of communication and a failure to offer options.

Broward Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the airport after some upset passengers became unruly.

No arrests were made.

"I would never ever book Spirit again," a passenger declared.

Spirit Airlines released the following statement: "The recent bad weather in Chicago, Houston and Dallas has put a significant strain on our network and has made it difficult getting pilots and flight attendants to a few cities. Because of this, we have had to cancel some flights and delay others."

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About the Author

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

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