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Passengers stranded in airports after major carrier cancels hundreds of flights

ATLANTA — Spirit Airlines canceled hundreds of flights across the country again Tuesday, leading to major meltdowns for travelers over the past couple of days.

Passengers at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport are still dealing with the headaches of so many canceled flights.

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach spoke with frustrated flyers at Hartsfield-Jackson today.

“I’ve been in this line since 5 this morning,” said Edna Moore.

Moore’s flight to Chicago was canceled.

“It’s irritating. We are tired. We want to go home,” said Moore.

Spirit Airlines canceled more than 40% of its schedule on Monday and was on pace to do the same Tuesday.

By midday today, of the 31 canceled flights at Hartsfield-Jackson, 26 of those were on Spirit Airlines. This affected many, including a family of six waiting for a flight from Atlanta to Las Vegas.

“Highly frustrating … kids like you said and losing money,” said the angry passenger who wished not to be identified.

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Some passengers who tried creative ways to get around the cancellations still managed to get caught up in the midst.

A passenger, who tried to get to Houston from Chicago, bought another connection through Atlanta yesterday — only to get stranded. The passenger was forced to sleep at the airport.

A spokesperson for the airline called it a “Perfect Storm” going back to Sunday. Blame has been placed on the weather, staffing shortages and crews timing out on the hours they can fly.

In a statement, Spirit Airlines expressed, “We needed to make proactive cancellations to some flights across the network, but the majority of flights are still scheduled as planned.”