A Frontier Airlines customer said that she and other passengers were stranded on an unmoving aircraft for nearly five hours hours—and threatened against receiving a refund if they tried to leave.
Clarissa (@colorschemin_) posted the viral video, which showed a number of frustrated passengers glued to their seats while a flight attendant made a cabin announcement. As of Thursday morning, her video had over 159,400 views.
@colorschemin_ currently still in nyc, almost 5 hours delayed with no explanation, and your staff is super condescending!! full story coming soon IF and WHEN we land 🤦🏽♀️ even Spirit woulda been more professional @Frontier Airlines #nyc #atl #frontier #frontierairlines #fyp ♬ original sound – Clarissa 💕
“Frontier Airlines, flight 1511 from NYC to ATL 6/6 10:48a. Y’all have got to do better!! It’s 3:22p and we still haven’t taken off,” Clarissa wrote via text overlay.
The content creator filmed a shot of the packed plane. As she recorded, a line of passengers stood in the aisle, attempting to get off.
With a number of customers now anxious to leave, a Frontier Airlines flight attendant made an announcement over the loudspeaker. “Can everyone just lower their voices for a second for me,” she said. “Anyone who’s getting off, you guys won’t be rebooked until Saturday. … Refunds are only through the phone. We can’t handle that. You will do everything through the phone.”
Frontier Airlines is a low-cost airline that provides a la carte services. A basic ticket earns paying customers a seat and the option to bring a small personal item onboard. Customers can then add any additional services for added costs, like drinks, checked bags, and full-sized carry-ons.
In the comments section, viewers expressed their support for Clarissa and their frustration with airlines companies.
“Airlines are getting out of hand,” one user commented. “FAA needs to step in and do something about this.”
“Report them,” added another. “They can’t keep you on the plane for more than 3 hours. That’s federal law.”
“People act like Spirit is the worst one but Frontier is wayyyyy worse,” a third viewer said.
Other commenters, meanwhile, noted that New York City is dealing with heavy smoke conditions due to Canadian wildfires, and that the delays were justified.
“Seriously! She says no explanation…ummm did the passengers look outside the window? They were grounding lots of flights today in NY,” one user observed.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Clarissa via TikTok comment and Frontier Airlines by email.
Update June 9, 5:34pm CT: Frontier responded to the Daily Dot, explaining that severe weather and a late arrival caused an initial delay, but the plane was forced to return to the gate due to unruly passengers, which caused everyone to deplane before they took off:
“The aircraft scheduled to operate the flight arrived 87 minutes late into La Guardia. Passengers began boarding at 11.38am. A subsequent maintenance issue combined with a weather delay program at La Guardia caused the aircraft to leave the gate at 13.30. Subsequently, a number of passengers on board became disruptive and the aircraft was forced to return to the gate with all passengers required to deplane. The total amount of time passengers were on board prior to the gate return was 134 minutes. Re-boarding commenced and the aircraft left the gate at 15:29. The flight was in the air at 16:05,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.
