OUT OF CONTROL

Spirit Cancellations Cause Airport Chaos

Fights break out in Ft. Lauderdale terminal.

Pandemonium consumed a Florida airport Monday after Spirit Airlines canceled nine flights caught in the middle of a labor dispute. Cellphone videos show the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport filled with stranded passengers screaming, pushing, and shoving Broward County sheriff’s deputies, who tried to restrain the crowd. Contract negotiations have turned tumultuous between the Airline Pilots Association and Spirit, which claimed the pilots were responsible for the breakdown. “This is a result of unlawful labor activity by some Spirit pilots designed to disrupt Spirit operations for our customers, by canceling multiple flights across our network,” the carrier said in a statement. “These pilots have put their quest for a new contract ahead of getting customers to their destinations and the safety of their fellow Spirit team members.”