Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) said Monday that its massive flight disruptions in recent weeks that affected tens of thousands of customers and caused chaos at airports around the country cost it about $50 million in revenue.
The discount carrier said it’s making “tactical schedule reductions” for the rest of the third quarter to soften the blow from staffing shortfalls. Spirit canceled more than 2,800 flights between July 30 and Aug. 9, citing staffing shortages, bad weather and technical problems.
“On behalf of our entire leadership team, we offer an apology to everyone impacted throughout the course of this event,” Spirit’s CEO Ted Christie, said.
“We believe the interruption was a singular event driven by an unprecedented confluence of factors and does not reflect systemic issues.”
The U.S. Transportation Department said it “has reminded Spirit of its legal obligations, including its obligation to provide prompt refunds when it cancels or significantly changes a flight and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered.”
Washington also said it is monitoring the airline and reviewing complaints about the carrier “to ensure that consumers’ rights are not violated. The Department will act if the airline fails to comply with the applicable law.”
Spirit also warned that customers are canceling more bookings, which it attributed to rising numbers of COVID-19 infections. Frontier Airlines (NASDAQ:ULCC) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) this month also cut their forecasts, blaming a slowdown in bookings on the fast-spreading delta variant of COVID-19.
SAVE shares handed back six cents, or 0.2%, to $24.21 early Tuesday.