Lindsey Mascera

Passengers Wait On Plane While Pilot Doesn't Show Up For Flight!

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By Melanie VanDerveer on August 27, 2023 at 3:00 PM EDT

Seven hours goes by slow enough while you're on the clock at work, so imagine how these stranded passengers felt forced to pass the same amount of time crammed altogether on their plane!

Passengers onboard Spirit Airlines flight 1736 taking off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida headed to Richmond, Virginia, on August 15 were not amused by the amount of time they had to wait for a pilot to arrive.

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Spirit Airlines Passengers Claim The Pilot Never Showed Up

Lindsey Mascera TikTok
Lindsey Mascera - TikTok

In a statement made to PEOPLE by Spirit Airlines, they claimed the flight returned to the gate "due to air traffic control-imposed delays and weather conditions. Once at the gate, our Guests were offered access to the terminal. Despite our best efforts, the continued ATC and weather delays affected our abilities to reschedule, and we later canceled the flight."

But that's not what the passengers are saying. A viral TikTok video tells another story.

"So we have 200 passengers on this flight right now," the video begins. The video creator then asks a woman standing in the aisle, "How long have you been waiting?" to which she responds, "Seven hours."

TikTok creator Lindsey Mascera then continues to talk about the dilemma they were facing.

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"So they told us it was gonna be 30 minutes, and we're all still on this flight," she continued. "We got delayed and now we're back and there's no pilots to be found, and there's no answer."

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A Follow Up Video Showed Passengers Getting Impatient

Lindsey Mascera TikTok
Lindsey Mascera - TikTok

A follow up video shares that despite being on the plane for so long, a flight attendant announced that they were not allowed to deplane.

"Now, they have told us that we not allowed to deplane, even though you have been here already for over an hour," the flight attendant is heard announcing. One passenger than shouted out, "People got to make other plans, man. Make your f***ing mind up."

There was no arguing from the flight attendant who responded, "You're absolutely right. I have no argument with what all of you think and your frustrations right now."

The flight attendant then offered for anyone who wants to get off the plane, they can and will be issued a refund.

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Many people in the comments talked about how well the flight attendant handled the situation, and all while likely not being paid. And others said they would have just gotten off the plane and found another flight.

"So leave and catch another flight? Why is everyone willingly staying, ?" one person asked. Another person added, "You weren’t stuck. She said get off ?. But yes this had to be awful."

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Flight Delays And Cancelations Have Become More Frequent Recently

Spirit Airlines
Contributed Photo - Melanie VanDerveer

The Independent recently reported that it takes a flight delay of 64 minutes to make passengers see red.

A poll of 1,330 adults who have travelled abroad in the past year found 71 percent either had a a flight delay or canceled flight. Nearly 58 percent of people struggled to find out why their flights were delayed or canceled and about 16 percent of people head to social media to complain about the situation.

More than half of the surveyed people agreed that the flight delays or cancelations aren't properly explained to passengers, and 45 percent were frustrated because they weren't informed of any resolutions.

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