Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants Rally At Philadelphia International Airport, Demand Airline Quits Leaving Them Stranded

Amara Amaryah
·2 min read
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Spirit Airlines flight attendants rally at Philadelphia airline, demanding that the airline quits leaving them stranded.

Flight attendants at Friday’s rally say they want Spirit Airlines to get its operations in order. Namely, they want Spirit to stop leaving passengers and flight attendants without flights.

“We had to cancel 30 of our flights on Friday, 50 more of our flights Sunday,” Don Reno Integlia, with the Association of Flight Attendants CWA for Spirit Airlines, commented.

Outside the Spirit terminal at PHL International, Spirit flight attendants say they want the airline to stop leaving passengers and staff without flights.

CBS Philly reports that the spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA says these picketers want a sustainable network as they move into the busy summer months.

The frustration is palpable at the rally; mass flight cancellations affect passengers as much as they do employees. Eyewitness News reports this as the fifth time since August when operational issues left crew and passengers stranded for days. The airline does not provide staff with hotel rooms, so some resort to sleeping on airport floors.

Disruption at Philadelphia International and nationwide airports

According to airport officials, the airport anticipated over 2,000 incoming and outgoing flights over the busy weekend. Spirit employees have already rallied at Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas, Las Vegas and Detriot. Spirit Airlines flight attendants rally in order to have their concerns heard by the airline and wider industry. Employees tell CBS3 they plan to rally at other airports throughout the country until Spirit Airlines addresses their demands.

In response, Spirit Airlines released the following statement:

We are grateful for our incredible Spirit Family, and we’re committed to finding ways to better support our Team Members and address the issues of most importance to them. We’ve been through so much together throughout the pandemic, and we are committed to making the necessary investments to build a stronger and more resilient airline for both our Team Members and Guests.

With further protests planned over the summer period, there is hope that the airline will respond accordingly.

Related: Spirit Airlines Employee Arrested For Stealing From Passengers’ Luggage At Airport