Several major U.S. airlines have been forced to activate staffing contingency plans because so many flight attendants and pilots are calling out sick that they have no option but to cancel or delay flights as they scramble to find replacement crew.
In the run-up to the New Year’s holiday, it emerged that the Denver-based budget carrier Frontier Airlines was experiencing a worrying spike in flight attendants going sick, but significant problems have now spread to both Spirit Airlines and JetBlue.
On Thursday and Friday, Spirit Airlines was forced to cancel or delay nearly 50% of its scheduled flights, with sources saying that many of the problems the ultra-low-cost carrier is facing are linked to staffing shortages.
Problems at Spirit have been compounded by the fact that it recently furloughed thousands of flight attendants as it seeks to shrink itself back to profitability as part of its highly publicized Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
While Spirit didn’t furlough any pilots, the one reason why not was that so many pilots have voluntarily left the airline in recent months, jumping ship to rival carriers.
As a result, Spirit has effectively gone from a position in which it was unsustainably overstaffed to being severely understaffed.
Of course, airlines normally have flight attendants on reserve for exactly these kinds of situations – effectively a group of crew members on standby who can be called at the last minute to cover for any flight attendants’ gaps on scheduled flights.
Unfortunately, the situation has become so bad that Spirit told staffers in an internal memo that, coupled with winter weather delays and air traffic control shortages, its reserve resources had been “fully depleted.”
“Our reserve levels are virtually the same as they have been since 2023, but during this holiday our sick calls have exceeded previous periods by nearly 250% on some days,” the memo added.
“The result was 55 cancels yesterday and more than 60 today, leaving thousands of Guests stranded,” the blunt message continued.
Spirit’s chief operating officer put a call out for action, saying: “We need to get the airline back on its feet immediately. Everyone who isn’t sick has been working very hard and around the clock, your efforts are commendable. Some of you have been extended multiple times and have continued to give us your best, thank you.
“We have seen the reports of various viruses going around. For those who are ill, I am sorry and I hope you feel better soon. It’s no fun to be sick, especially during the holidays.”
Spirit activated its so-called ‘Level 3’ contingency plan due to the high sickness rates, which is exactly what JetBlue has also been forced to do in the last few days.
According to an internal memo, nearly one in five flight attendants at JetBlue had called out sick just before the New Year. The airline noted that this is much higher than last year and that the rate of sickness amongst crew members had become “unsustainable.”
Thankfully, crewing levels are improving at JetBlue, but the Level 3 alert remains in force.
Yesterday, it emerged that Frontier Airlines had ordered flight attendants to produce a doctor’s note for any sickness they take, as the carrier battles to reduce the number of call-outs.
The airline said the number of sick calls suggested not all were genuine, telling flight attendants in a very sharp memo:
“Let me make it clear: this trend is unacceptable and unsustainable. While illness and legitimate emergencies do happen, the frequency and timing of sick calls have reached a point where we can confidently say this protection is no longer being used as intended and where drastic action is now necessary.“
After a particularly rough flu season during flu season in Australia and New Zealand, health experts have been anticipating a similar trend in Europe and North America. Unfortunately, those predictions are proving to be correct.
As of December 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)estimates that there have been 7.5 million flu illnesses so far this season, resulting in 81,000 hospitalizations, and 3,100 deaths.
In its weekly influenza report, the CDC warned that flu activity is “elevated and continues to increase across the country.”
The most recent data has been delayed due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
