News10NBC investigates: Passengers face delays at Rochester airport due to jetway issues on two Spirit Airlines flights

ROCHESTER, NY – Twice in two weeks, passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight from Florida faced delays arriving at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport due to problems with the jetway.

“I was sitting up front. I could tell they were having trouble with the jetway. They couldn’t get it to move,” said Eric Ehlers, who was delayed on a Spirit flight on New Year’s Eve.

Ehlers says the plane had already begun refueling and removing baggage when the captain made the announcement.

“Finally the captain came and said they couldn’t get the jetway to work and they had to push us to another gate,” Ehlers said.

Michael Lebbon had a similar experience when his Spirit flight arrived after midnight Monday and parked at Gate A-1.

“We were told when we got to the gate that the sky bridge was not working,” said Michael Lebbon, a passenger on the Spirit flight.

Lebbon’s flight was pushed to another gate and then the baggage conveyor did not work. It took him more than three hours to get out of the airport, longer than the flight from Florida.

Ehlers’ delay was about 45 minutes and he only had carry-on luggage.

“I have to say I was certainly surprised to see that story about another jetway problem at that gate,” Ehlers said.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Because you were like—hey, it happened to me.”

Eric Ehlers: “It’s something that needs to be fixed by the airport.”

The airport says it is their responsibility to ensure the jetways and conveyor belts are working and they have not found any problems.

“The jet bridges and baggage conveyor … had no mechanical problems with their operation. Operation of the equipment is performed by the specific airlines that use them,” airport spokesman Gary Walker wrote in an email. “Except for your two examples, we have not had similar problems with other flights or airlines. We are working with the airline to provide more training in the correct use of the equipment.”

Spirit Airlines spokesman Tommy Fletcher wrote, “We want all of our guests to have a great experience while traveling with us. Our ground services in Rochester are handled by a third-party business partner and we are following up with our business partner and the airport authority on this matter. “

When News10NBC observed the Spirit plane at Gate A-1 on Tuesday, it took several adjustments and six minutes to get the jetway to the door.

On the Sunday flight, Spirit gave each passenger a $30 voucher, which is about 30% of the fare.

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