A former Spirit Airlines flight attendant is suing the Broward County airline in Miami federal court, alleging she was fired for being overweight after not being given the same opportunity to lose weight as a white colleague.
Chelsia Blackmon, an African American woman, says she was unable to fasten the seat belt and fit in the jump seat on one of Spirit’s Airbus 319 planes in September 2021. She was forced to deplane and placed on leave. She claims that Spirit gave her from Sept. 3 to Oct. 12 to lose weight and be able to “fit” into the jump seat. On Nov. 3, 2021, Blackmon was terminated, according to her lawsuit filed last month in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Blackmon and her lawyers say in court documents the flight attendant suffered racial discrimination. They cited a white flight attendant colleague of Blackmon’s who they say also couldn’t fit in the jump seat due to her size and weight, but was given “several months” to lose weight to fit, while Blackmon was given just over a month.
