[jimworcs]

5.50 for a 7am...

The website says the following:

"Day of Departure. Check-In begins 3 hours prior to departure at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter. Spirit Airlines reserves the right to cancel the reservation or seat assignment of any customer who does not have a boarding pass at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled or posted departure (45 minutes for Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Los Angeles; 60 minutes for international flights). Due to additional Transportation Safety Administration screening requirements, customers wanting to check baggage are required to do so at the ticket counter at least 30 minutes before departure (45 minutes for Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Los Angeles; 60 minutes for international flights). Customers presenting themselves at the boarding gate less than 15 minutes before the departure (30 minutes for international flights) may lose their reservation and become ineligible for denied boarding compensation."

On that basis, they should not have closed the check in. Do you have any proof of the time you presented yourself at the check in desk? It is important, because the DOT may have an interest if you can prove Spirit are lying. They have previous on this and have paid substantial DOT fines for misconduct in the past.

They will point out to a later clause which states that it takes up to 3 hours to get through the airport, but the key timings are those I have quoted.

Cicero enjoys baiting... best ignored.

Good luck