Unions urge aid for workers after Spirit Airlines collapse

One union says the Trump administration “must” protect Spirit’s workers, including with financial aid.

Unions have sprung into action following Spirit Airlines’ 2 May shutdown, urging the US government to provide financial aid to former workers and calling on the airline’s leaders and the bankruptcy court to ensure employees receive due compensation.

“We urge the federal government to provide a temporary $600 weekly supplement to state unemployment benefits for a period of six months. Standard unemployment coverage does not replace full wages,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, says in a 2 May letter to US transportation secretary Sean Duffy.

Nelson also calls on the US government to pay for the healthcare of Spirit’s flight attendants through end-2026, to encourage other airlines to hire former Spirit attendants, and to provide “a temporary federal wage subsidy”.

“The administration must take immediate action to protect the workers whose lives are hanging in the balance,” Nelson adds.

The US Department of Transportation does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Miramar, Florida-based Spirit abruptly halted operations early on 2 May after failing to secure $500 million in emergency funding from the US government. President Donald Trump said his administration made Spirit an offer, but Spirit’s creditors reportedly dismissed the deal, which would have seen the US government acquire ownership of the airline.

“Unfortunately, despite the company’s efforts, the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook,” Spirit said in announcing its shut down.

“Most of all, we are grateful to our relentless Spirit team for their tremendous effort during our restructuring,” Spirit chief executive Dave Davis says.

US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York is overseeing Spirit’s wind down.

“Our members on the ramp did not cause this failure; corporate mismanagement and poor financial stewardship did,” says the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Spirit’s former ramp service agents.

“We call on Spirit’s leadership and the bankruptcy court to ensure that every worker receives the full severance, back pay and benefits they are owed. Workers should not be the last in line when a company fails,” the union adds.

The Air Line Pilots Association calls the company’s collapse “a devastating blow to more than 2,000 ALPA pilots and thousands of other hardworking employees”.