Email ‘sent in error’ startles Frontier Airlines travelers ahead of Thanksgiving rush

An email accidentally sent out this week from Frontier Airlines spooked flyers across the country ahead of the Thanksgiving travel rush.

The subject line sent to flyers read “There has been a change to your upcoming flight,” although the email did not detail what the change was or which part of a trip was impacted if customers booked a round trip, USA Today reported.

But the email allegedly made some believe their travel plans were canceled because it directed them to Frontier’s “rebooking hotline” to seek “reaccommodation options.”

The airline’s customer service hotline was almost immediately flooded and busy, with travelers reporting only getting the company’s voicemail, USA Today reported. 

Thursday night, the company addressed the problem in a tweet, explaining to worried customers that the email was sent in error due to a technical issue.  

“We sincerely apologize. You may confirm the details of your trip by entering your confirmation number on our website,” the airline tweeted.

This evening, a technical problem generated an email to some customers stating their upcoming flight was cancelled. This email was sent in error. We sincerely apologize. You may confirm the details of your trip by entering your confirmation number on our website.

— Frontier Airlines (@FlyFrontier) November 22, 2019

But neither the airline’s official Twitter account nor its customer service account, @frontiercare, posted about the issue for several hours after the email was sent, frustrating travelers.

@FlyFrontier why did I get an email saying there are changes with my itinerary and when I call your numbers they are all busy!? Not good

— Nicholas DiNapoli (@di_napo1) November 22, 2019

Frontier just upset thousands of customers with this. Phone lines are down. Why don’t you have email support? For hours customers had zero communication with this airline…Many called their credit card company to cancel. Frontier needs to do better!

— Alfredo (@Alfredojeffries) November 22, 2019

This tweet was long overdue. Need to address these things quicker.

— Dee C (@tweetd79) November 22, 2019

The company has not confirmed what caused the glitch, but an investigation is underway, USA Today reported.