Colorado Springs competitive cheer team stranded for hours after airline mishap
A local competitive cheer team is hoping to make it back home Wednesday after being stranded in Florida for over 24 hours.
They say the trip has been an absolute nightmare and they’re blaming Frontier Airlines after their flight was canceled due to a staffing shortage.
A cheer competition in Orlando against teams across the nation first began as an exciting moment for Kinetic, the Colorado Springs-based cheer team.
But it quickly went sour for the team Monday after arriving at the airport only to find out they couldn’t leave.
“We have seniors that are missing their last day of school and we have people that are in finals,” said Jeanette Roberts, a coach for the team.
Members of the team took to social media to post videos which show members sleeping on benches in the airport and most of the team and their bags scattered across the airport floor.
Roberts says security and police were called to try to calm passengers who were frustrated.
She says that’s when the airline agreed to give the cheer team $1,200 in reimbursements, even though the team says they’ve spent nearly $5,000.
“The guy we talked to said they would not reimburse for food or transportation and now instead of going to the Springs, we’re going to Denver and we have to find ways to get home from there. We’re not going to get any reimbursement for that stuff,” said Roberts husband who spoke with corporate on the phone Monday.
The team says Frontier Airlines put them on the next flight out, two days after their original flight.
“Thankfully, my husband and myself are in a position to be able to get us and stay until the next available flight but even two days out, that’s not acceptable,” Coach Roberts said.
We reached out to Frontier Airlines, who told us it’s their mission for passengers to have a good experience and arrive at their destinations on time.
Frontier says, “Each customer affected by the cancellation of flight 1059 received a $100 travel voucher, letter for reimbursement of up to $400 on another airline and hotel and meal reimbursement. We apologize to all of our customers who have been affected by this cancellation.”
In total, about 40 parents and kids were stranded at the airport on Monday, with some choosing to rent a car to drive to nearby airports.
About 15 team members and parents are expected to arrive in Denver Wednesday.
