LAS VEGAS (KLAS/WGN) — Last week, Spirit Airlines unveiled plans to furlough roughly 1,800 flight attendants before the end of the year. Some of those furloughs have since been announced.
In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice to government officials, Spirit Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Guest Experience and Crew Operations, Nick Bartolotta, notified government officials that on December 1, 2025, or within 14 days of that date, 393 employees belonging to the Association of Flight Attendants will be furloughed at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
The furlough is expected to be temporary; however, the airline is unsure as to how long it will last, according to the WARN notice. The WARN Act is a federal law that requires employers to provide a written notice at least 60 calendar days in advance of plant closing and mass layoffs.
A similar WARN notice has also been posted in Illinois, warning that more than 60 Spirit employees at O’Hare International Airport will be impacted come December. More than 330 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be furloughed, according to a Georgia WARN notice.
In Florida, Spirit has warned that nearly 800 employees will be affected. That includes “70 employees represented by [the] International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers” union and more than 300 flight attendants at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport, 350 flight attendants at the Orlando International Airport, and 71 at the Miami International Airport.
“Further, this furlough is subject to the terms of the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement (‘CBA’)” the notices read. “Bumping rights (that is, the right to avoid furlough by displacing another employee), if any, for union employees will be governed by the applicable CBA between the Company and the Union.”
The Association of Flight Attendants said last month that it was working to secure “preferential interviews” with other airlines for furloughed flight attendants.
In a letter to its members, the union said that while it initially succeeded in staving off furloughs as Spirit tries to slash costs, “the problem is that the significant reduction of aircraft and flight hours requires a much higher reduction in force.”
In early September, Spirit Airlines announced that it was discontinuing service to 11 cities to focus on its strongest-performing markets. Eight of the 11 cities had services to and from Las Vegas. Services to those cities are set to stop the week of Oct. 2, according to a statement released by Spirit Airlines.
This came on the heels of the budget carrier filing for bankruptcy protection, just months after emerging from its first Chapter 11 reorganization. Spirit CEO and President Dave Davis said the company is focused on reducing debt and raising capital.
The airline also instituted furloughs and job cuts before filing for bankruptcy last year.
The company’s cost-cutting efforts continued after it emerged from bankruptcy protection in March, including plans to furlough about 270 pilots and downgrade some 140 captains to first officers in the coming months.
Those changes, which are set to take effect on Oct. 1 and Nov. 1, were also tied to expected flight demand in 2026, the company has said.
Spirit has said it was considering selling off certain aircraft and real estate. Its fleet is relatively young, making the airline an attractive target. But buyout attempts from budget rivals like JetBlue and Frontier were unsuccessful both before and during Spirit’s first bankruptcy process.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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