Spirit Airlines closure leaves Southwest Florida travelers seeking options

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—Spirit Airlines shut down this weekend after 33 years of flying.

The company said high oil prices made it hard for the company to stay in business. Now local customers are telling WINK News they're having to rethink their travel plans for the upcoming holiday weekend.

At Southwest Florida International Airport, the Spirit Airlines ticket counter stood empty with no line, no employees and no customers. The kiosk remained on, but customers like Jenna Mastando won't be coming there anymore.

Mastando told WINK she was flying on a budget, but now she may not get to go home as much as she's used to.

"My favorite little life hack was I'd actually come to RSW to book the flights, because they'd knock off some of the fees," Mastando said.

Spirit Airlines' closing did not just take away another flight option for customers. For Mastando, it was her only option most trips.

"When Spirit was flying, I could go home for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, Father's Day, everything in between," Mastando said.

In her college and post-grad years, flying this budget airline felt like a luxury for her wallet.

"Every other airline was charging for $500 to get home, and I could do a round trip on Spirit for 39 bucks," Mastando said.

Jackie Rategan, a local travel agent, says there were drawbacks to the airline, like baggage restrictions.

"Every other airline, the flights, their luggage could only be 50 pounds," Rategan said. "With Spirit, it was 40 pounds."

"I was perfectly fine with me in my backpack and Spirit," Mastando said.

The airline says all flights have been cancelled and refunds are processing. Zarcone asked Rategan what she's seen since the shutdown.

"The fact that the prices have gone up a little bit due to the fuel costs, it hasn't been as big of an impact as I was honestly anticipating," Rategan said. "So for now, everything seems to be still moving forward. I think we'll be seeing some fallout for summer travel."

Now for flyers like Mastando, she will need to save a little longer to take a long weekend.

"I wanted to go home for Memorial Day this weekend, and I was thinking, do I pay for groceries or do I get a flight home?" Mastando said.

If you had a cancelled flight, the transportation secretary says airlines like Delta, JetBlue and Southwest are offering a $200 one-way ticket to those travelers.