RAIN SHOWERS RETURN FRIDAY. DROPPING YOUR HIGHS INTO THE LOW 90S. RIGHT? THE HEAT IS ON. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE HEAT A LITTLE MORE. THE FALLOUT CONTINUING AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF SPIRIT AIRLINES, LEAVING PASSENGERS STRANDED. WESH 2’S DAVID JONES IS LIVE FOR US TONIGHT AT MCO. AND DAVID, YOU WENT TO A COMPETITION TODAY WHERE SOME OF THE ATTENDEES WERE STRUGGLING TO GET BACK. LUANA WE’RE TALKING A CHEER COMPETITION THAT BROUGHT THOUSANDS OF YOUNG CHEERLEADERS INTO ORLANDO THIS WEEKEND. MANY FLEW. THOSE WHO FLEW SPIRIT ON ARE GOING TO ENCOUNTER A MUCH DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT HERE AT MCO. UPON THEIR RETURN HOME. SOME WE SPOKE WITH TODAY SAY THEY HAVEN’T WORKED OUT. OTHERS, MEANWHILE, STILL UNSURE THE SUDDEN CLOSURE OF SPIRIT AIRLINES SENT SHOCKWAVES THROUGH THE COMPETITIVE CHEER COMMUNITY. AFTER ALL THE RUMORS AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, THIS IS DONE. CHEER DAD JOHN COVINO BROUGHT HIS FAMILY TO TOWN FROM NEW JERSEY ON SPIRIT FOR THE ONE PRIME FINALS AT THE ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER. SHANE BOTH WAYS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE LOSE THEIR JOB, YOU KNOW, HAVE FAMILIES, BUT ALSO SPIRIT WAS AFFORDABLE AIRLINE COMPARED TO ALL THE OTHER ONES THAT ARE OUT THERE NOW. WITH SPIRIT SHUTTERED, COVINO SAYS HE’LL HAVE TO FIND A NEW ROUTE HOME. I HAVE A FAMILY OF SIX, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE THOUSAND DOLLARS JUST TO GET HOME NOW BECAUSE THEY DECIDE NOT TO FLY US HOME. IT’S KIND OF EMOTIONAL BECAUSE IT WAS CRAZY. CHEER MOM TIFFANY WILSON FROM TEXAS SAYS SHE AND ANOTHER MOM HAD THEIR SPIRIT FLIGHT FOR FRIDAY CANCELED. THE SPIRIT APP HAD A BIG NOTE YOU COULDN’T DO NOTHING. IT WAS JUST A BIG NOTE SAYING, SPIRIT IS SHUT DOWN. THEY MADE IT HERE WITH ANOTHER AIRLINE WITH JUST AN HOUR TO GO BEFORE PERFORMANCE, WE HAD TO LITERALLY BRING OUR BAGS TO THE CONVENTION CENTER. WE HAD TO LITERALLY HAVE TO GET DRESSED HERE, MAKE UP EVERYTHING, BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE CRUNCH TIME. IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL. IT WAS VERY SAD. WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO. WE DIDN’T WANT TO LET THE TEAM DOWN. AND BACK HERE AT. IT’S REALLY SURREAL TO SEE THESE TICKET COUNTERS WERE HOPPING JUST A COUPLE OF SHORT DAYS AGO. NOW, NOT SO MUCH AS THE IMPACTS FROM THE CLOSURE OF ONE OF THE NATION’S MAJOR AFFORDABLE AIRLINES CONTINUES TO BE FELT. WE’RE COVERING MCO LIVE TONIGHT. DAVID JONES, WESH TWO NEWS. SO VERY SERIOUS AND HEARTBREAKING. WELL, THIS FLORIDA BASED AIRLINE EMPLOYED A LITTLE MORE THAN 11,000 WORKERS. MORE THAN HALF ARE BASED IN SOUTH FLORIDA. AND THE AIRLINE ALSO FLEW TO ABOUT 72 DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS. SOME OF THE MAIN ONES INCLUDE ORLANDO, FORT LAUDERDALE, ATLANTIC CITY, LAS VEGAS, DALLAS, AND EVEN CHICAGO. AND BEFORE CLOSING, THEY OPERATED AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 300 FLIGHTS PER DAY. MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE SERVED FLORIDA AIRPORTS, INCLUDING MIAMI, TAMPA AND PALM BEACH AND NEARLY A DOZEN MAJOR AIRLINES ARE SUPPORTING STRANDED PASSENGERS BY CAPPING TICKET PRICES. AT A MINIMUM, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A SPIRIT FLIGHT CONFIRMATION NUMBER AND PROOF OF PAYMENT. AIRLINES MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL SPECIFICS. THE FARES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR CERTAIN TIME PERIODS, DEPENDING ON THE AIRLINE. AND JUST A REMINDER THAT SPIRIT PASSENGERS STUCK IN TOWN CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WHAT THEY’RE CALLING DISTRESS RATES FROM ROSEN HOTELS, SEVERAL LOCATIONS ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA ARE OFFERING DISCOUNTED RATES AS LOW AS $69 A NIGHT, SO TAKE ADVANTAGE. THEY JUST NEED TO MENTION THE
Spirit Airlines shutdown leaves cheer families stranded in Orlando
Updated: 10:45 PM EDT May 3, 2026
The sudden closure of Spirit Airlines has left families attending the “One Prime Finals” cheer competition at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando scrambling to find alternative travel arrangements. Cheer dad John Covino, who traveled from New Jersey with his family, shared his reaction to the airline’s abrupt shutdown. “After all the rumors, all of a sudden, it’s just done,” Covino said. Covino reflected on the broader impact of the closure, saying, “It’s a shame both ways because people lose their job, have families, but also Spirit was an affordable airline compared to all the other ones that are out there now.” He added that the shutdown has created significant financial challenges for his family. “I have a family of six. It’s a couple thousand dollars to get home now because they decided not to fly us home,” Covino said. Cheer mom Tiffaney Wilson, who traveled from Texas, described the emotional experience after her Spirit flight for Friday was canceled. “It’s kind of emotional because it was crazy,” Wilson said. She explained that the Spirit app displayed a message stating the airline had shut down, leaving her unable to make any changes or arrangements. Wilson and another mom managed to arrive in Orlando using a different airline, but the timing was tight. “We had to literally bring our bags to the convention center, we had to literally have to get dressed here, make up, everything because it was, like, crunch time,” Wilson said. Reflecting on the situation, Wilson added, “It was very emotional, it was very sad, we didn’t know what to do, we didn’t want to let the team down.” At Orlando International Airport, ticket counters that were bustling just days ago now sit empty, underscoring the impact of the closure of one of the nation’s major affordable airlines.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
The sudden closure of Spirit Airlines has left families attending the “One Prime Finals” cheer competition at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando scrambling to find alternative travel arrangements.
Cheer dad John Covino, who traveled from New Jersey with his family, shared his reaction to the airline’s abrupt shutdown.
“After all the rumors, all of a sudden, it’s just done,” Covino said.
Covino reflected on the broader impact of the closure, saying, “It’s a shame both ways because people lose their job, have families, but also Spirit was an affordable airline compared to all the other ones that are out there now.”
He added that the shutdown has created significant financial challenges for his family.
“I have a family of six. It’s a couple thousand dollars to get home now because they decided not to fly us home,” Covino said.
Cheer mom Tiffaney Wilson, who traveled from Texas, described the emotional experience after her Spirit flight for Friday was canceled.
“It’s kind of emotional because it was crazy,” Wilson said.
She explained that the Spirit app displayed a message stating the airline had shut down, leaving her unable to make any changes or arrangements.
Wilson and another mom managed to arrive in Orlando using a different airline, but the timing was tight.
“We had to literally bring our bags to the convention center, we had to literally have to get dressed here, make up, everything because it was, like, crunch time,” Wilson said.
Reflecting on the situation, Wilson added, “It was very emotional, it was very sad, we didn’t know what to do, we didn’t want to let the team down.”
At Orlando International Airport, ticket counters that were bustling just days ago now sit empty, underscoring the impact of the closure of one of the nation’s major affordable airlines.