‘It’s crazy what’s going on.’ Spirit Airlines shutdown hurting LAX travelers

The sudden shutdown of Spirit Airlines overnight has left travelers across the country, including those at Los Angeles International Airport, scrambling to find new ways to get home.

No one appeared to be working at the Spirit counter at LAX’s Terminal 2, all the Spirit flights on the board were canceled and the kiosks said the airline has shuttered. Some people who were supposed to fly Spirit this weekend say they feel like they’ve been left in the lurch.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a way back home,” said Artyna Thomas Luke, who was supposed to fly Spirit from LAX to Texas on Sunday. “My reaction was, ‘Oh my God. What am I going to do now? And why didn’t they forewarn us before just completely shutting down?'”

Spirit sent out a message Friday night, saying the airline is “winding down its global operations effective immediately” and adding that “all flights have been canceled and customer service is not available.”

Some flyers are out more than just the cost of a ticket.

Paloma Zuniga and her family were set to fly Spirit from LAX to New York this week. She said they can’t afford to rebook the trip on other airlines and that they’ll lose more than $8,000 in non-refundable vacation costs.

“There’s no way that we can get it back, especially the Airbnb and all the expenses that we did for trips,” Zuniga said. “It’s crazy what’s going on.”

The airline said anyone who booked tickets on its site will get a refund.

Spirit Airlines is shutting down, in a move that will affect thousands of scheduled flights and nearly as many employees.

The Trump administration said it’s monitoring the shutdown’s impact on travelers, and federal officials say airlines like American, Frontier and United are offering lower rates to flyers who had tickets on Spirit.

“As of this early morning, we actually set up a website to help customers that may need to book flights,” David Terry, managing director of United Airlines LA, said. “So we have actually capped airfares, and we’ve set up the website.”

However, some travelers say it’s not enough.

“We need to be compensated,” Luke said after sharing that she had not received a refund yet and that every one-way ticket home from LAX was at least $300. “We need to be taken care of and we need to be able to get back to our destination.”

Experts say those who booked a ticket on Spirit through a third-party site should reach out to their bank to ask for a refund or go through a travel agent.