Spirit will recall hundreds of flight attendants who were furloughed as part of its bankruptcy restructuring.
In a post on X, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents flight attendants at Spirit, said the airline’s management “just announced the recall of 500 flight attendants back to the line to help the operation.”
“This is good news for 500 flight attendants and their families and critical to those of us on the line that have faced a grueling operation over the last two months,” the union said. “The company’s goal in recalling flight attendants is to ease some of the operational issues since the furloughs.”
The flight attendants will be recalled in order of system seniority, with the involuntarily furloughed brought back first.
Spirit furloughed approximately 1,800 flight attendants in December in an attempt to reduce costs and bring staffing levels in line with its reduced fleet size and pared-back flying schedule. Since declaring bankruptcy for a second time in August, the ultra-low-cost carrier has also furloughed pilots and cut some corporate and operations staff.
Another round of pilot furloughs, set to take effect in January, was preemptively canceled in December.
In addition to furloughs and job cuts, Spirit has rejected aircraft leases, sold airport gates, slashed routes, and withdrawn from certain markets. It is currently seeking permission from the court overseeing its bankruptcy to auction off 20 Airbus jets, which could generate over half a billion dollars before taxes.
