'Frustrated' Spirit Airlines gate agents screamed at passengers: Here's what happened next
Spirit Airlines fired two gate agents for yelling at passengers to “shut up” earlier this month at Hollywood Burbank Airport.
Kevin Eis, a Spirit Airlines passenger who was flying from Burbank to Las Vegas on July 12, captured the incident on video in a couple of now-viral TikToks. The videos show the frustrated gate agents in front of a crowd of passengers for two different Spirit flights.
When Eis and his travel companion arrived at the gate to board at around 11:15 a.m. for their noon flight, they found the area crowded with travelers from a delayed Spirit Airlines morning flight, Eis told USA TODAY.
“(The gate agents) were like, ‘We’re going to start boarding soon,’ but she’s not telling whether it’s for the 9 a.m. flight or the scheduled noon flight,” Eis said.
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Eis asked one gate agent which flight was going to leave when she “changed her attitude” and told him he was “a flight risk.”
“Everyone around me started laughing,” Eis said. Unsure if he would be allowed on the flight, Eis took out his phone to start recording the incident while his travel companion started to book a flight to Vegas on a different airline on his phone.
The two gate agents started getting frustrated and upset at the crowd in what Eis described as an “unreal moment.”
In one of the TikToks posted by Eis, one agent is heard saying, “Can I get everybody’s attention?”
Then she raised her voice, screaming, “Can I get everybody’s right now? Thank you. Alright, now, do you want to get on this flight or not? Alright, so everyone’s going to shut up. We’re only going to say it once. We’re not going to say it again because we’re frustrated as hell.” The crowd of passengers can be heard cheering.
“Try to help us to help you,” one gate agent said into the intercom, according to another TikTok by Eis. “Please be quiet so I can think of what’s going on. I don’t know what aircraft is here because everyone is screaming. I’m going to be honest, I don’t know what aircraft is sitting out there. I don't know what's going on. You guys won't give me a minute, please give me a minute, please.”
“I just saw a chaotic moment, and that’s what you do in this day and age; you take out your phone to capture it,” he said. Eis said there were other gate agents at the scene who remained “very calm.”
Eis said it “was a jovial environment,” and most passengers were not upset at the Spirit agents.
The aircraft ended up being for Eis’ noon flight, and the gate agents allowed him to board.
Spirit Airlines said it is aware of the video and “the two agents involved are no longer working with Spirit following the completion of our vendor’s internal investigation into the matter.”
“We apologize to our guests for this experience, which does not reflect Spirit’s high standards for guest service,” said a Spirit Airlines spokesperson.
“I’m not happy these two women got suspended,” Eis said. “I don’t want to be someone to cause someone to be in a less than better scenario. I feel for them, I really do.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Frustrated' Spirit Airlines gate agents scream at passengers
