Spirit Airlines fired two gate agents earlier this month after they yelled at a passenger to “shut up” at Hollywood Burbank Airport.
Kevin Ice, a passenger on a Spirit Airlines flight from Burbank to Las Vegas on July 12, captured the incident on a now-viral TikTok video, which shows an annoyed gate agent in front of passengers from both Spirit Airlines flights.
Ice and his companion arrived at the gate around 11:15 a.m. to board their midday flight, only to find the area crowded with passengers whose morning Spirit Airlines flight had been delayed, Ice told USA Today.
“(The gate agent) said, ‘Boarding will begin shortly,’ but didn’t say whether that was for the 9 a.m. flight or the scheduled noon flight,” Ice said.
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Ice said he asked a gate agent which flight was departing when the agent “changed his attitude” and told him he was a “flight risk.”
“Everyone around me started laughing,” Ice said. Unsure if he would make it on the plane, Ice took out his cell phone and began recording the incident, while his traveling companion began using his phone to book tickets to Las Vegas on another airline.
The two gate agents became annoyed and angry with the crowd, but Ice described it as a “surreal moment.”
In one of the TikToks posted by Eis, one of the agents can be heard saying, “Can we get everyone’s attention?”
She then raises her voice and yells, “Can I get everyone back now? Thank you. Now, are you on this flight or not? Okay, so now everyone shut up. I’m only going to say this once and I’m not going to say it again, because we’re so annoyed.” The crowd of passengers can be heard to cheer.
“Please help us help you,” one of the gate agents said over the intercom, according to another TikTok from Ice. “Please be quiet because I want to think about what’s going on. I don’t know what kind of plane is here because everybody’s yelling. I honestly don’t know what kind of plane is parked there. I don’t know what’s going on. You guys won’t give me one minute. Please, just give me one minute.”
“I witnessed a moment of chaos, and in this day and age it’s normal to pull out your phone and film it,” he said. Ice said there were other gate agents at the scene who remained “very calm.”
“The atmosphere was jovial,” Ice said, and most passengers were not upset with the Spirit Airlines attendants.
The flight turned out to be for Ice’s midday flight, and the gate agent allowed him to board.
Spirit Airlines said it was aware of the video and that “the two agents involved are no longer working with Spirit Airlines following the completion of our vendor’s internal investigation into the matter.”
“This experience does not reflect Spirit Airlines’ high standards for guest service and we apologize to the customer,” a Spirit Airlines spokesperson said.
“I’m not happy that these two women have been suspended,” Ice said. “I don’t want to be the person that puts somebody in a worse situation. I know how they feel, I really do.”
