A busy Florida airport descended into chaos after Spirit Airlines Inc canceled nearly a dozen flights due to a labor dispute with pilots, stranding hundreds of passengers and leading to multiple skirmishes.
Cellphone video footage of the scene inside the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport late on Monday showed people falling onto the ground fighting while security officials attempted to restrain them.
“We are shocked and saddened to see the videos of what took place,” Spirit spokesman Paul Berry said in a statement.
Broward County Sheriff’s deputies were called in to assist in calming passengers who became irate after learning their flights had been dropped or postponed, and at least three people were arrested, a local CBS News affiliate reported.
At least 11 Spirit flights were canceled at the airport on Monday and 31 were delayed, according to FlightAware data.
Hundreds of flights affecting thousands of passengers have been canceled in recent days due to the labor dispute, Berry said.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
