A Spirit Airlines contractor will soon lay off 134 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport employees at the end of September, according to a letter from the vendor.
Airport Terminal Services wrote to the Texas Workforce Commission that impacted employees would include gate agents and ground service workers.
“The operation will cease, and all employees currently working for Spirit Airlines at the facility will be impacted,” said the St. Louis-based aviation services company. Airport Terminal Services added that “this closure is expected to be permanent.”
Spirit Airlines said it contracted a new vendor and will have a process for all affected employees to interview with the new company. The Miramar, Florida-based airline did not name the replacement vendor.
“We sincerely appreciate the team, and the vast majority will end up working for the new contract, which is a fairly seamless process,” explained Spirit spokesman Erik Hofmeyer.
Recently, JetBlue Airways reached a $3.8 billion deal to purchase Spirit Airlines in July. If federal anti-trust regulators approve the merger, the combined entity will become the country’s fifth-largest airline. The change in vendors is not due to the pending merger between the two airlines.
Spirit operates 27 departures daily out of DFW International Airport, making it the third-busiest carrier behind American Airlines and Delta Airlines and slightly ahead of United Airlines, according to FlightAware’s aviation tracking site.
Spirit’s most frequent flights provide service from North Texas to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, and Cancún.
Earlier this month, Spirit hosted a Las Vegas hiring event where it sought to add 200 flight attendants as part of its broader growth efforts.
Many challenges have rocked the airline industry since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, including staffing shortages, canceled and delayed flights, and scheduling issues.