A regular day at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport turned into complete mayhem yesterday when a fight broke out over cancelled services.
Footage captured and posted to Instagram showed a group of Spirit Airlines guests lashing out at local deputies after being advised of flight changes caused by a pay dispute between the carrier and its pilots.
Some 150 flights were cancelled over two days, nine of them scheduled to depart from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport where the fight occurred.
Hot tempered passengers at the gateway can be seen physically striking out at staff from the local Sheriff’s department, who were called in to handle the situation.
The clip opens with officers attempting to restrain disruptive travellers and ends with one man apprehended and held down to the ground.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BT2uy9JDMAL/
In an online statement, Spirit Airlines’ Spokesperson Paul Berry said the airline was “shocked and saddened” by the events and apologised for any inconvenience disruptions may have caused its passengers.
“We sincerely apologise to our customers for the disruption and inconveniences suffered, affecting approximately 15 percent of flights across our network, and are hopeful that we can put this moment behind us and get back to serving our customers,” Berry said.
Spirit Airlines has since received a temporary restraining order and a hearing for a preliminary injunction into the Airlines Pilots Association (ALPA), International and the ALPA Master Executive Council, which the carrier claims were responsible for “unlawfully disrupting the airline’s operations”.