Fort Lauderdale, FL – You know somebody was going to capture the epicness! Canceled flights led Spirit Airlines passengers to hysterical screams, blaring shouts and thrown uppercuts at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Monday night. Spirit blamed the flight delays on their pilots, who Spirits says are presently in contract negotiation.
Meet me at the airport, it’s goin’ dowwwwwnn!! (Yung Joc voice) Video displays a crowd of agitated Spirit Airlines passengers swarming the ticket check-in counter Monday evening, after nine flights were canceled leaving hundreds stranded. In a statement from Spirit Airlines spokesman Paul Berry, the Miramar-based airline said it was “shocked and saddened” by the videos surfacing on social media and pointed the blame directly at their pilots, with whom the company has been negotiating a new contract for two years.
“This is a result of unlawful labor activity by some Spirit pilots designed to disrupt Spirit operations for our customers, by canceling multiple flights across our network,” Berry says. “These pilots have put their quest for a new contract ahead of getting customers to their destinations and the safety of their fellow Spirit Team Members. It is for this reason, Spirit has filed suit in Federal Court to protect our customers’ future travel.”.
Oh yeah, turnt up to the max!! The Spirit Airline pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), said they’re not being compensated anywhere near their peers, even as Spirit Airlines has made a profit for 27 consecutive financial quarters. In a statement, ALPA retorted, “The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l and the Spirit pilot group it represents are not engaged in a job action. Rather, ALPA and the Spirit pilots are continuing to do everything possible to help restore the company’s operations, which have experienced significant problems over the past several days. While we will continue these efforts, we will actively defend the association, its officers and its member pilots against the unwarranted and counterproductive legal action brought this evening by Spirit Airlines.”.
