DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Former employees of a now defunct airline came together at the company’s former headquarters Monday to lean on each other as Spirit Airlines suddenly stopped service over the weekend leaving thousands without jobs and thousands left stranded.
Dozens of now former Spirit Airlines employees gathered outside of the company’s former headquarters at the Dania Point Shopping Center in Dania Beach with their uniforms on one more time for what seemed to be part reunion, part wake.
7News drone video captured the large gathering as former employees braved the rain to stand in solidarity with each other and to say goodbye to their colleagues a lot of who had been with the company for over a decade.
One of those employees is Susie Jenkins, who spent nearly a decade as an inflight supervisor at the company. She said she learned about the sudden closure on Saturday night.
“Everybody called me and said, ‘Susie, what are we going to do? And I said, ‘You know what? We are going to get up and we’re going to keep moving,” she said.
Many feel they not only lost their jobs, but their identities and livelihoods as well, with no job, pay or benefits.
“I coached, developed, made friendships. All of these amazing people and I couldn’t be more proud of everybody here today,” said Jenkins.
“For us, it’s not just the loss of the job it’s our routine, our identities, our friendships, so we’re all here very sad, but on the other hand, very happy that we can come together,” said a former employee.
This all came after the airline announced they were shutting down Saturday after being in business for over 34 years and just two years after the unveiling of their brand new campus in Dania Beach, an investment that totaled near $250 million only to close two years later.
Many of these employees learned of the news via a digital message page late Friday night.. Some were at home, others were working. Workers told 7News they gave it their all until the very end.
“I’ve been with the company 20 years. Spirit has been my life,” said former employee John Marrero.
“I worked Friday, brought the plane into Fort Lauderdale and we all went home and my friend was like, ‘if this is going to be it, be with people that you love,” said former employee Jamie Engler.
Engler looked back at her time with Spirit.
“I flew with the coolest people I’ve ever met. They all have just such unique stories to tell,” she said.
Many of these workers hugged and shared support for one another during this difficult time.
“To see this come to an end in this time in our lives is hard, it’s very hard,” said former employee Michael.
“It’s been waves of emotions, it just comes and goes and today feels like I’m going to a funeral, literally, but it’s tough,” said a former employee.
“Again, it’s tough because not everyone’s going to make it out the same. The hardest part is what are the flight attendants going to do? And the other employees? Because there is just not enough work for everyone here,” said former employee William Roman.
The gathering concluded with a flight attendant’s emergency order as they naviage this next phase.
“We’ll figure it out one day at a time,” said another Jenkins.
Workers said they created chats to stay in contact with each other and to pass along job openings, hoping to get hired by other airlines, but explained that this is a very niche and competitive industry with limited jobs as it is.
Others told 7News their respective departments have created individual GoFundMe pages to get help from the community. Meantime, the different unions continue to fight to get their employees back pay and benefits for them.
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