The flight attendants’ union is asking the Department of Transportation to help Spirit employees.
HOUSTON — An unexpected financial blow is leaving an estimated 17,000 Spirit Airlines employees out of work, including crews at Bush Airport. Now, the flight attendant union is urging the Department of Transportation to step in, to help keep employees and their families afloat.
Passengers say it’s a bit eerie at Houston’s big airport with the signage all gone. They are used to seeing long lines. On Monday, plastic bags were covering the kiosks, and you could faintly make out the word Spirit on the wall. It’s a sign of the end of an era.
Newlyweds Robert and Ingrid Vasquez have a honeymoon story to tell. While they were on a cruise ship in Miami, they learned they wouldn’t make it back home to Houston — at least not on Spirit Airlines.
“We were sad at first, but we are optimistic people, so we’re trying to make the best out of everything,” Robert said. “I went fishing yesterday for the first time.”
They made the most of being stranded, ultimately able to make it home a couple days later, shocked, but grateful.
“We’re actually really sad because all of these people just lost their job, so we were looking at the Spirit section and it’s like, oh my God, there’s nothing there,” Ingrid said.
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Spirit Airlines reportedly shut down after failing to secure a multimillion-dollar federal bailout. Now thousands of people are out of work, with little guidance on what’s next. The Association of Flight Attendants sent a letter to the Department of Transportation, requesting a rescue for Spirit flight attendants.
They’re in part asking that workers getting their full earned compensation be prioritized, health plans maintained and the hiring of displaced flight attendants prioritized.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity there, and especially for the pilots and the flight attendants, the crew members who, you know, are the front line facing right there, the gate agents,” said aviation consultant Erik Sabiston. “I think that they’re going to have no trouble.”
Sabiston said while this seems a bit grim, all will make it through.
“Everything is gonna be fine,” he said. “
As for the Vasquez, they’ll continue on knowing it’s a luxury many won’t have.
“For us, we can go back to our jobs you know, but for them it’s like, we didn’t see it coming,” Robert Vazquez said. “I’m sure they probably didn’t see it coming and they have families and stuff.”
The Vasquezes did express concern about losing a key budget-friendly airline, but experts say other low-cost airlines can meet the needs.
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