WASHINGTON, D.C. – [On May2], the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) President Sara Nelson – representing 55,000 Flight Attendants across 20 airlines, including 5,500 Flight Attendants at Spirit Airlines – sent a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling laying out clear demands and actions needed to protect Spirit workers.
“Spirit Flight Attendants and thousands of other workers have invested their hearts and souls into this airline, and now their lives are on the line,” said AFA President Sara Nelson. “Spirit Flight Attendants are not just some asset to be written off in this process. Their lives matter, and the livelihoods of all Spirit workers must come before the profits of shareholders. Spirit workers showed up everyday until that last flight touched down at DFW, and they must be protected.”
The just-released letter comes hours after Spirit Airlines ceased operations, leaving thousands of Spirit Flight Attendants and other frontline workers without their income, healthcare, and livelihoods.
“The Administration must take immediate action to protect the workers whose lives are hanging in the balance. The lives of the workers must be a top priority of this administration and the bankruptcy court as this process continues,” continued Nelson.
In the new letter, Nelson urges Duffy to “deploy the full capacity of the federal government to support [Spirit] workers,” laying out clear actions for Secretary Duffy and the federal government to take to ensure workers are protected:
- Urge the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York overseeing Spirit Airlines’ liquidation to prioritize the full and timely payment of workers’ earned compensation and benefits.
- Maintain the healthcare plans for Spirit Flight Attendants through the remainder of the 2026 plan year and ensure automatic enrollment.
- Provide a temporary $600 weekly supplement to state unemployment benefits for a period of six months.
- Coordinate with U.S. airlines to prioritize the hiring of displaced Spirit Flight Attendants, supported by a temporary federal wage subsidy to accelerate onboarding.
- Extend Flexible Spending Account (FSA) usage periods and the provision of emergency childcare subsidies.
