Spirit Airlines filed a WARN notice Wednesday with the state Department of Labor, stating it intends to furlough 59 workers at Atlantic City International Airport starting Oct. 1 and ending May 1, 2021, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The notice said Spirit will furlough 23 flight attendants and 36 pilots based at the airport in Egg Harbor Township, and similar layoffs will happen at all of its crew bases, because of “the rapid increase of the COVID-19 coronavirus and its recent resurgence in large parts of the country served by the company, extensions of shelter-at-home guidance, the slowing and reversal of reopening plans, and the recent expansion of quarantines on travelers.”
Spirit is based in Florida, one of the hardest-hit states by the virus in recent months. The airline flies to several locations in Florida as well as to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, from Atlantic City International.
People are also reading…
An email to Spirit seeking more details was not responded to Wednesday.
In its second-quarter report July 22, Spirit reported total operating revenue of $138.5 million, a decrease of more than 86% from the second quarter of 2019, “due to the significant decline in air travel demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It also said it had received about $300 million in federal Payroll Support Program Plan pandemic assistance funding and has applied for more funding under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Spirit also estimated its overall capacity for July, August and September will be down about 18%, 35% and 45%, respectively, compared to the same periods last year. For the third quarter of 2020, capacity is estimated to be down 32% year over year.
Pilots have negotiated furlough pay as part of their collective bargaining agreement, so they will receive it, Spirit said in the WARN notice. Flight attendants have no severance/furlough pay provision in their agreement, Spirit said, so they will receive no such pay.
WARN notices must be sent 60 days ahead of a furlough or layoff when a company that employs more than 100 people intends to furlough or lay off more than 50 workers at a single site, under federal law.
