‘No communication.’ Spirit Airlines shutdown strands travelers in South Florida

A once-busy Spirit Airlines check-in counter now sits silent at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after the carrier abruptly shut down operations over the weekend — leaving travelers stranded and employees out of work.

For passengers like Nikki Young, the disruption unfolded mid-trip.

Young said she was on a cruise in the Bahamas with her son when she learned her return flight had been canceled — without warning.

“In the middle of the ocean and found out that all our flights were canceled,” Young said.

She said she had prepaid to check her luggage through Fort Lauderdale, but now doesn’t know where it is.

“Our luggage was prioritized to go to Spirit — Spirit doesn’t know where it is, the cruise line doesn’t know where it is,” she said. “There was absolutely no communication.”

Young now faces a 22-hour journey home with multiple stops.

Other travelers reported similar frustrations.

Fred Michel said he and his group were vacationing in the Dominican Republic when they discovered their flights had been canceled. They rebooked on another airline — at a steep cost.

“We had to spend $400 more per person. ... We don’t know if we’re going to get” a refund, Michel said.

MORE: ‘What do I do now?’ Former Spirit employees gather at Broward headquarters

Meanwhile, longtime employees were also caught off guard.

Oral Blackstone, a ramp supervisor who had worked for Spirit for nearly 20 years, said he walked out of the airport Monday carrying a box of his belongings — and no answers.

“I’ve never been called out one day and not even a dollar they give me, and it hurts,” Blackstone said.

Court documents obtained by CBS News indicate the airline made the decision to shut down operations at 3 a.m. Saturday, citing safety concerns. The filing states the timing was intended to ensure no planes were in the air and that crews had time to secure accommodations.

Still, many passengers say the lack of advance notice and communication has made an already difficult situation worse.

“They should’ve sent out an alert… there was absolutely no communication,” Young said.

In response to the disruption, major airlines including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest,= and United are offering discounted “rescue fares” to help stranded travelers.

MORE: What is a ‘rescue fare’ — and can you get one if you are stranded by Spirit?

JetBlue also announced it is expanding its presence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, adding 11 new destinations and 27 additional daily departures. The airline, along with Southwest, said it will match loyalty status for Spirit’s Gold and Silver members.

But for many impacted passengers, the damage is done.

“I think they had no consideration for the clients who supported their business all this time,” Young said.

This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami.