The Brief
- Atlanta-based flight attendant Aijah Smith describes the “shock to the system” of waking up in a Houston hotel to a shutdown airline, leaving her and 17,000 colleagues suddenly unemployed.
- Despite the abrupt 3 a.m. shutdown, Smith notes that Spirit maintained constant communication through town halls and emails, ensuring crews were aware of the financial risks even after being recalled from a recent furlough.
- Smith characterizes the airline as a tight-knit community where she felt comfortable “being herself,” and she is now looking toward other major carriers that are fast-tracking interviews for displaced Spirit staff.
HOUSTON – Aijah Smith was sound asleep in a Houston hotel room when her mother called with the news that changed her life: the airline she had called home for nearly four years was no more.
“I didn’t register what she said,” Smith said. “And then I had another trainer, a fellow colleague of mine call me. And she was like, ‘Hey, are you OK? I know everything’s probably canceled.’ And I’m like, ‘Canceled? What do you mean?'”
Smith, an Atlanta-based flight attendant for Spirit Airlines, is one of more than 17,000 employees left in professional limbo after the carrier officially ceased all operations at 3 a.m. ET Saturday. The shutdown, triggered by a collapse in federal rescue talks and soaring fuel costs, grounded hundreds of flights and left crews stranded across the country.
‘A regular day’ turned upside down
Timeline:…