Internet users love sharing their travel stories. While some of these tales are positive, many are simply complaints about things gone wrong—for example, expensive upgrades that disappoint, lost bags, and airlines pulling tricks on their customers are all common topics of conversation.
However, if one airline’s name is mentioned, you know that you’re more than likely in for a terrible travel story. That airline is Frontier.
Frontier has sparked controversy for numerous practices, such as allegedly charging people $99 for bag fees that they should not have needed to pay (and giving their employees bonuses for doing so) and, in general, not being the nicest to their customers.
Now, another internet user has sparked a discussion after claiming that Frontier kicked her off her return flight—leaving her stranded on an island in the path of a hurricane.
Frontier leaves traveler stranded
In a video with over 48,000 views as of Thursday, a TikTok user named Tsahai Layne (@tsahailayne) explains how she came to be stuck in Jamaica with an oncoming hurricane, thanks to an apparent mistake on the part of Frontier Airlines.
According to Layne, she had planned a vacation to Jamaica, flying out on June 26 and returning on July 1. Problems were immediately apparent, as her first flight was delayed by an hour, though Layne wasn’t very concerned. That would soon change.
“Once we’re on board, we made it all the way to Montego Bay Airport. Like literally we were hovering over the airport, we could see it,” recalls Layne. “Then, the pilot came on the intercom and said that he was going to turn us around to Miami because apparently it wasn’t safe to land in Jamaica.”
While this frustrated Layne, she says she was OK that the pilot made the safer decision. However, upon flying back to and reaching Miami, she realized that Frontier’s handling of the situation would be less than adequate, as passengers were left in the dark about their potential next flights.
“The flight attendants were straight up getting hostile with us and telling us to stop asking questions,” Layne recounts. Later, she adds that the airline “offered us no hotel accommodations, no food, no refund. Nothing.”
Layne finally made it to Jamaica the next day. But when she attempted to check in for her return flight on July 1, she was told her reservation had been canceled.
“They told me there won’t be another flight until Sunday. So basically a whole other week,” she laments.
The reason for her removal? Frontier says that they removed her from the flight because she placed a refund request for the original canceled flight. The problem, Layne states, is that she was told to apply for a refund—and even received an email she claims stating that her return flight would be intact.
“I was like, ‘Then why would they tell me to apply for a refund?’ And also, if you can’t refund me for a flight I already took, why wouldn’t you just say, ‘Hey, that’s against policy,’” Layne questions.
In an attempt to get home before Hurricane Beryl made landfall, Layne ended up spending over a grand on a Delta ticket and extended accommodations.
“At this point, I have spent in excess of $1,000 on extending my trip and trying to get back home. And I will never, and I may never fly Frontier again,” she declared. “I will take accountability for being cheap and booking a Frontier flight to Montego Bay and I’ll never do it again. This is, like, the most expensive mistake I’ve ever made in my life.”
@tsahailayne Nothing good comes cheap, learned the hard way. Anyway, im being legally advised to sue 😊 Thanks @Frontier Airlines ! #foryou #xybca #stranded #travel #hurricaneberyl #canceled #yikes #lawsuit #jamaicatiktok ♬ original sound – Tsahai Layne
Commenters share their Frontier stories
At the time of writing, it appears that Layne is still stuck in Jamaica, with her posting updates from the island as recently as last night. Thankfully, it seems that the worst of Hurricane Beryl has passed Jamaica, though Sky News notes that it caused incredible damage and was “the most powerful storm ever to make landfall this early in the season.”
In the comments section, users offered their own Frontier stories.
“I always say those cheap flights aren’t worth it! travelled frontier once and was delayed for 8 hours with absolutely no reason,” a user said.
“I had the same thing happen on American left Jamaica on Sunday trying to go back to NJ. They closed NC airport we were diverted to SC got stuck there 2 days,” stated another.
“Frontier delayed our flight for 6 hours then cancelled it with no explanation and told us oh well lmao,” detailed a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Frontier via email and Layne via Instagram direct message.
Update 1:21pm CT, Jul. 6, 2024:
In an Instagram direct message exchange with the Daily Dot, Layne stated that she’s not been contacted by Frontier and that she is still stuck in Jamaica.
“Frontier needs to pay me for all the expenses I’ve incurred due to this inconvenience,” she said of a potential resolution. “At this point, it’s too little too late. All they offered me was 10,000 miles to fly with them but I would never choose to use their airline again and at the time they offered me that, the airport had closed ahead of the hurricane so I was stuck here anyway.”
“I’m working on a lawsuit against them for negligence as I have now encountered a traumatic event by myself and could have lost my life in,” she added.
To conclude, she noted that she is “just one of many people this airline has disenfranchised over the years.”
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