An unknown number of Spirit Airlines passengers saw their travel plans disrupted on Friday as the discount carrier grounded up to 25 jetliners for what the Federal Aviation Administration called “mandatory inspections,” and more than 40 flights were canceled at Orlando International Airport.

According to data provided by FlightAware, an online tracker of worldwide daily commercial airline activity, the Miramar-based discount carrier led the industry with 98 flight cancellations as the day unfolded.

“We’ve canceled a portion of our scheduled flights to perform a necessary inspection of a small section of 25 of our aircraft,” Spirit said in a statement. “While this action is being taken out of an abundance of caution, the impact to our network is expected to last several days as we complete the inspections and work to return to normal operations.”

Neither the FAA nor Spirit identified what the inspections entailed.

Passengers on Friday wait at Spirit Airlines’ ticket counter at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

“The FAA is aware that Spirit Airlines removed approximately 25 of its Airbus airplanes from service to conduct a mandatory maintenance inspection,” the agency said in a statement provided to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The FAA will ensure that the matter is addressed before the airplanes are returned to service.”

It remained unclear how broadly the cancellations are affecting Spirit’s route network, which includes destinations across the U.S., in Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

The FlightAware data showed flight cancellations in general were nominal Friday morning at South Florida’s three international airports in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

What customers should do next

In its statement, airline management encouraged passengers to “monitor their email and check their flight status on spirit.com or the Spirit Airlines App before heading to the airport.”

Travelers whose Spirit flights are canceled can accept a rebooking on the next available flight. Or, they can cancel their booking entirely and ask for a refund, “which may be credited back to your original form of payment or as a Spirit Airlines flight credit,” according to the personal finance website NerdWallet.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says if a traveler’s flight is canceled, and an airline cannot rebook the flier or the person decides not to travel, the customer is entitled to a full refund of the unused portion of the trip. That also includes fees charged for services such as seat selection and baggage checking.

Spirit, known as an ultra low-cost carrier, is poised to be taken over by discounter JetBlue Airways of New York for $3.8 billion.

But the Biden Administration has sued to stop the combination. An antitrust trial on the matter is scheduled to start Monday before a federal judge in Boston.

It will be a tall task for the Vikings when they play host to the mighty San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

To say the 49ers boast a gluttony of talent on both sides of the ball would be putting it lightly. They are dynamic on offense and dominant on defense.

That was apparent this week when head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about the challenges of the Vikings going up against a defense that is only allowing 278 yards per game this season. He spit out a laundry list of players that included Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead on the defensive line, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw at linebacker, and Talanoa Hufanga in the secondary. After getting all the way through his answer, O’Connell realized he forgot Javon Hargrave, who is as disruptive as any player in the league up front.

“You see impactful players at all three levels,” O’Connell said. “They have maybe some of the bests at their positions.”

The only thing the Vikings might have working in their favor is the 49ers could be down some playmakers on offense. Neither running back Christian McCaffrey (oblique) nor receiver Deebo Samuel (shoulder) have practiced this week. This comes after both players left last week’s game and did not return.

As impressive as the 49ers have proven to be on offense this season, McCaffrey and Samuel have been the straw the stirs the drink more often than not. If quarterback Brock Purdy is without both of them this weekend, he might have his work cut out for him against a Vikings defense that is going to blitz the heck out of him.

Booth getting his chance

After burying him on the depth chart earlier this season, the Vikings seemed to be gaining confidence in cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. He played 26 snaps on defense against the Chicago Bears, appearing to pass rookie cornerback Mekhi Blackmon on the depth chart for the time being.

Asked about the decision this week, defensive coordinator Brian Flores praised the way Booth has been competing in practice.

The fact that Booth is slowly starting to garner more playing time is a good reminder that the timeline can look different for players.

“He continues to work his technique and fundamentals in coverage,” O’Connell said. “I was proud seeing him get in there and make an impact like he did.”

Cleveland misses practice again

The Vikings should enter Monday’s game fairly healthy. The only player who missed practice on Friday was left guard Ezra Cleveland as he works through a foot injury. He seems in danger of being ruled out, with left guard Dalton Risner serving as the next man up.

Aside from that, the Vikings listed cornerback Akayleb Evans (oblique), pass rusher Pat Jones II (shoulder) and Jalen Nailor (hamstring) as limited participants.

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