Spirit Airlines is facing criticism after a flight attendant shared that the airline fired her for being overweight. The lawsuit also accuses the airline of racial discrimination. She is now filing a lawsuit against the airline after being wrongfully terminated.
Court documents show that Chelsia Blackmon believes she was fired for being overweight. The lawsuit notes that Chelsia Blackmon’s attorney wrote her client was fired for being too overweight to buckle the seat belt on the jumpseat on an Airbus plane operated by Spirit. According to the Insider report, Blackmon, an African-American woman, has also accused Spirit Airlines of discrimination.
According to reports, Blackmon states that she was not offered the same treatment as her white colleague who similarly could not “fit” in the jump seat. Blackmon filed the complaint on November 16th in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Blackmon expresses the she passed all training and compliance protocols prior to being hired. This included being strapped into a jump seat.
What We Know:
Issues came around when Blackmon was assigned to Spirit’s Airbus 319. On September 3 2021 she was unable to strap herself into the seat and wasn’t permitted access to an extender belt. Blackmon was then asked to leave the plane and was put on administrative leave. The former African-American flight attendant alleges that Spirit gave her from September 3rd to October 12th to lose weight and be able to “fit” into the jump seat. On November 3rd Blackmon was fired, according to the suit.
The complaint claims that due to “discriminatory and illegal differential treatment based upon her race,” Blackmon suffered “lost wages, compensatory damages, mental anguish and suffering.” Following the incident, Blackmon is seeking back pay, damages, damages, and legal costs in a trial by jury.
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