Passenger Demands Refund After Spirit Flight Diverted to Bus

(Originally posted on Dec. 28, 2016) CLEVELAND, OH — An Akron woman who took the long way home from a Caribbean vacation is demanding a refund from Spirit Airlines after her flight from Florida was diverted through Detroit because it was too windy to land in Cleveland, ABC5 reported.

First, Spirit flight 4440 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Cleveland was delayed several hours Monday. And then came the diversion to Detroit, where passengers were told they would be bussed to Cleveland. They were, but a water hose failed near Toledo and passengers were stranded for about 35 minutes.

The passenger, who asked the news station not to give her name because it might jeopardize her employment, said it was 5 a.m. Tuesday before she arrived home, about 12 hours after the flight was originally scheduled to land in Cleveland.

“I would like a representative from Spirit to contact the passengers that were sitting on that bus on the side of the highway, elderly people, people with kids,” said the passenger, who . "They wouldn’t give us any drinks, meals. They wouldn’t even give us a bottle of water.”

A Spirit spokesperson said the bus arrived in Cleveland about 3:30 a.m. Passengers were given $50 vouchers for future travel, but the woman interviewed by the TV station thinks they should get a full refund.

» For more on this story, go to ABC5.

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