Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants Rally At Philadelphia International Airport, Demanding Airline Stop Leaving Them Stranded
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Spirit Airlines flight attendants are protesting at Philadelphia International Airport. They are demanding the airline stops leaving them stranded.
"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, said.
Flight attendants at Friday's rally say they want Spirit Airlines to get its operations in order and stop leaving passengers and flight attendants without flights.
They stood outside the Spirit terminal at PHL International.
The spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA says these picketers want a sustainable network as they move into the busy summer months.
With limited staffing, he says any small disruption sends the airline into a full-blown meltdown, not only leaving passengers stranded, but also flight attendants.
"We're there facing the brunt of their frustrations and we're frustrated too," Reno Integlia said.
Employees tell Eyewitness News this is the fifth time since last August when operational issues have left crew members and passengers stranded for days on end - and flight attendants are not being provided hotel rooms, so some resort to sleeping on airport floors.
"Flight attendants sleeping on airport floors, waiting to get a call about hotel rooms, no schedule modifications or anything," Reno Integlia said.
Last weekend was extremely busy and this weekend is expected to be more of the same with Mother's Day on Sunday.
According to airport officials, over 2,000 flights are anticipated to go in and out of PHL International this busy weekend.
The Lopez family is glad they're not impacted.
"Twenty-two years, she hasn't spent a Mother's Day with her mom so it's a big deal," South Philly resident Emily Lopez said.
Frustrated employees have already picketed in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas, Las Vegas and Detriot.
They tell CBS3 they plan to rally at other airports throughout the country until Spirit Airlines addresses their concerns.
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.