The sudden shutdown of Spirit Airlines has left roughly 17,000 employees and contractors out of work — including people across Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
Robert Pettit commuted from Vero Beach to the Spirit Airlines Operations Center in Orlando on Friday, not knowing it would be his last shift.
Vero Beach flight dispatcher among thousands of Spirit employees out of work
“We were supposed to make it through,” Pettit said. “The company was on its way out of Chapter 11 (bankruptcy).”
Pettit worked as a flight dispatcher for 14 years, including the last four years with Spirit. He described his job as a “pilot on the ground,” helping navigate Spirit’s fleet around dangerous weather and logistical hurdles…