MIAMI, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Hundreds of passengers spent the night in a South Florida airport terminal after Spirit Airlines planes were grounded for inspections, officials said Thursday.
More than six scheduled Spirit flights from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were still delayed Thursday morning, The Miami Herald reported.
Inspections of the planes' engines were instituted Wednesday night as "a proactive and voluntary check," said company spokeswoman Misty Pinson, after a Spirit flight from Dallas to Atlanta had to turn back last week after it experienced engine troubles.
No one was injured and the plane safely returned to Dallas.
The inspections were supposed to take 45 minutes, Pinson said, but some passengers were delayed up to eight hours.
Some passengers who slept on the terminal floor and chairs overnight said they were offered only a $7 food voucher. Passengers who wanted to make other travel arrangements were not allowed to reclaim their baggage.
"We are working diligently to get our customers where they need to go as quickly as possible," Pinson said. "We expect all checks to be completed this morning."
