Airlines
Flight attendant sues airline that fired her for being ‘too big’ for jump seat
Spirit Airlines is being sued for racial discrimination by an ex-flight attendant who claims she was fired because she couldn’t fit in the crew jumpseat but that a white flight attendant who had the same issue was given extra time to lose weight.
Following her termination in November 2021, Chelsia Blackmon has charged Spirit Air with racial discrimination in violation of both the federal Civil Rights Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act.Blackmon filed a case in District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeking an undetermined amount in back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive penalties..
Blackmon, a woman of African American descent, recently finished Spirit Airlines’ flight attendant training course. Blackmon had to demonstrate throughout her training course that she could properly secure herself with a four-point harness inside a flight attendant jumpseat.
According to Blackmon’s lawsuit, she was able to demonstrate that she could use the different jumpseats and harnesses found on Spirit Airlines’ Airbus A320-series aircraft and that she has flown on several occasions in different aircraft without experiencing any problems.
Blackmon learned that she couldn’t buckle up the harness because of her size on September 3, 2021, when she was assigned to work on an Airbus A319 aircraft. Since flight attendants are not allowed to employ seatbelt extenders, Blackmon was forced to disembark and lost her trip. After a brief investigation, the airline required that she provide proof that she could fit in a flight attendant jumpseat, and she was subsequently placed on administrative leave.
Blackmon was instructed to secure herself in a jumpseat “that was too tiny for her” less than a month later. She was suspended after she couldn’t fit in the jumpseat, and a few weeks later her position was terminated. Despite the fact that Blackmon doesn’t question Spirit’s right to fire her due to her size, she asserts that a white flight attendant in a same situation was allowed time to fit in the jumpseat.
Blackmon claims Spirit intentionally violated her civil rights by allowing her less time to fit into the jumpseat because of her colour. She calls this action “wilful, malicious, and in reckless contempt” of her rights.
