In a major disruption to its operations, Spirit Airlines canceled approximately 100 flights on Friday due to the need for inspections on some of its planes. The airline has warned passengers that the disruptions are likely to continue for several days. While the exact nature of the inspections was not disclosed by Spirit, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that it involved the inspection of brackets on the airframes of the planes.

By late Friday afternoon, Spirit had canceled a staggering 11% of its scheduled flights, making it the carrier with the highest percentage of scrubbed flights among leading airlines in the United States, according to tracking service FlightAware. In response to the situation, Spirit released a statement explaining that the cancellation of a portion of their scheduled flights was necessary to carry out inspections on 25 of their aircraft. They also acknowledged that the impact on their network would likely last for several days until the inspections were completed and normal operations could resume.

The FAA acknowledged being aware of Spirit's decision to withdraw these planes from service for a "mandatory maintenance inspection." The purpose of these inspections is to identify signs of cracking around the fasteners that attach pressure panels to the beams on the planes' airframes. If left undetected, these cracks could potentially compromise the structural integrity of the aircraft, leading to the possibility of rapid decompression. It is worth noting that fatigue cracks in airplane frames have long been recognized as a risk.

Both European and US regulators have required these inspections for many years, with the FAA's most recent update on the matter occurring in 2018. The FAA has assured that it will ensure the issues identified during the inspections are adequately addressed before the planes are cleared for service again.

Spirit Airlines operates a fleet of 198 planes, all of which are variants of the Airbus A320 family, according to regulatory filings. The airline has advised customers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport. Notably, nearly half of the cancellations occurred at Orlando International Airport in Florida, where Spirit holds the position of the second-largest carrier.

In comparison to other budget carriers, Spirit's cancellation rate of 1.5% this year, resulting in more than 3,600 canceled flights, is lower than that of Frontier Airlines, which stands at 2%. Meanwhile, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines have cancellation rates that are on par with Spirit.