Add Category
Posted
Irate passengers have swarmed ticket counters and started a near-riot after nine flights were cancelled at Florida's Fort Lauderdale's airport.
Spirit Airlines blamed the decision on pilots' failure to show up, leaving hundreds stranded at the terminal.
Police arrested three people from New York in the airport, charging them with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and trespassing.
The chaos was the latest instance of airlines dealing with high-profile customer frustration.
Problems began last month, with mobile phone video capturing a passenger being dragged off a United Airlines flight, and other horror stories have surfaced involving flights on Delta and American airlines.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said about 500 people were crowded into Spirit's terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport late on Monday night (local time) after the airline cancelled the flights.
Video posted online showed police grappling with screaming passengers and breaking up fights.
Photo:
Spirit Airlines blamed the cancellations on pilots' failure to show up. (Reuters: Jay Romero)
The discount airline said pilots were refusing to pick up open flying assignments, which it said was an illegal and concerted plot by the Air Line Pilots Association to apply pressure during contract negotiations.
It has filed a lawsuit, saying it has had to cancel about 300 flights nationally and internationally over the past week because of the union's actions.
Another 36 flights were cancelled on Tuesday.
Jennifer Glann, who was in the crowd trying to get home to New Haven, Connecticut, said conditions were "awful" and "horrible".
"There was nowhere to stand, nowhere to sit," she said.
Employees forced people to go outside, she said, and then the scuffles started.
Paul Yankowitz of Newark, New Jersey, said he tried to remain calm as the crowd became enraged.
"It sucks, but like anything else in this life, life is short and you can't get stressed," he said.
Federal District Judge William Dimitrouleas issued a temporary restraining order against the union on Tuesday, ordering its member pilots not to engage in any boycotts or slowdown.
Spirit spokesman Paul Berry issued a statement apologising to customers, saying the company was "shocked and saddened" by the Fort Lauderdale melee.
"We believe this is the result of intimidation tactics by a limited number of our pilots affecting the behaviour of the larger group," Mr Berry said.
The union has denied the accusation, but said in a statement its members could obey the judge's order with the goal of helping Spirit resume normal operations.
Airport spokesman Greg Meyer said the airport had added security agents and other staff at the terminal to help Spirit.
"For many people, airline travel is very challenging. A lot of people don't do it frequently, so they are nervous anyway," he said.
"When your flight is cancelled and you need to be somewhere at a certain time, it is an imposition and we understand that."
AP
Topics: human-interest, law-crime-and-justice, united-states