The flight operations of the US low-cost airline Spirit have been running - to say the least - unevenly for several weeks. The carrier had to cancel thousands of flights for various reasons and tens of thousands of passengers were stranded. This has now brought the US Department of Transportation to the scene. The authority placed the carrier under special observation.

The crux of the matter, the DOT told regional media, is that, under US law, in the event of a cancellation, travelers have the right to replacement transport - even with another airline. But that is exactly what Spirit is said not to have granted in thousands of cases. The service team that normally takes care of exactly this kind of thing is hopelessly overburdened. The consequence of this is that tens of thousands of passengers are stranded in various places and, contrary to applicable law, receive neither rebooking nor care services.

Spirit boss Ted Christie downplayed the problem to USA Today and explained, among other things, that they are on the best path to “recovery”. Furthermore, the irregularities in air traffic, which reached their preliminary peak in July 2021, have already been greatly reduced. Nevertheless, Spirit had to cancel around 2.000 flights in the first week of August alone and thousands of passengers were again affected.

The transport authority DOT is unimpressed by the public statements and assurances that they are on the mend and the reasons that the failure of pilots and flight attendants would be very complex. The office is now taking Spirit under special supervision and wants to analyze and monitor the failures closely. There is a particular focus on ensuring that the low-cost airline complies with US passenger rights in the event of cancellations or delays. Theoretically, the DOT could even impose a fine on Spirit, but the process is still at the very beginning.